Inhale Deeply, Exhale Slowly
by ascentofstan
Summary: Since Harry Potters retirement from public life three years after the Battle of Hogwarts, the noble house of Slytherin has become synonymous with evil and treachery. Best friends Scorpius Malfoy and muggle born Eleonora Jago attempt to eschew the values of the wizarding world and the newly formed shadowy Unity movement to forge their own path through a life of prejudice and hate.
1. Control

_"One day soon you're going to have to choose a side" - Rufus Edwards_

* * *

"Is this what they fought for? Is this what they died for? Did they kill my parents, your parents and countless others to just to slip on a different colour hood? For too long have we cowered in the corner, hiding behind our blood stained house crest. Are we forever going to stand by in acceptance as we are denied what we deserve? Because if we do, we will never get it. You will never get that job you worked so hard for after you graduate. You will never get to eat in the best restaurants or drink in the best bars or shop in the best shops. You will never get to marry the person you truly love. All because of choices made my those you share a name with, those who most of us have never even met. And a choice made by a talking hat when we were 11 years of age. Slytherin. Slytherin. Slytherin. The house that haunts us, the house that defines us and the house that will continue to hold us back our entire lives,"

"But I am not ashamed my friends. I am not ashamed to be here now with you. I am not bitter, twisted or angry that this is where I sleep at night. This is where we sleep at night, the reviled generation, the sons and daughters of the worst of them all, this is where we sleep at night and this is where we will continue to sleep for the rest of our lives. And I for one am fucking proud. I am proud to be a Slytherin and to be with you right now. Because this is our real family. The people in this room now, not the blood supremacist maniacs that didn't stick around to raise us or the reformed cowards who snivel and suffer their way through this mess of a life. No, this is our family and not even they can take that away from us. They can call us their names, they can beat us until we are bloody and they can deny us every right a witch or wizard should have but they cannot take us away from us. Only together can we change things. Only together can we put an end to this. This is Weasley's world. And I for one don't want to live in it anymore!"

Wild cheers and applause rang around the dank, decaying dungeon as the boy jumped down from the table into the throng surrounding him. Accepting handshakes, claps on the back and kisses from the more forward girls, the boy grinned in delight, passion still burning in his bright blue eyes as he made his way through the room. As he reached the edges of the room he glimpsed a flash of purple hair as the door to the common room slammed shut. He had to act fast. Putting his wand to his throat he uttered the spell.

"Sonourous."

His sly and melodic voice boomed all around as he began.

"Excuse me my friends, but I have to take my leave of you."

He grinned as the groans echoed around the room, particularly revelling in the crestfallen look upon the pretty blonde that he just noticed was clutching his arm.

"I know, I know but detention calls. Yet another miscarriage of justice. Potter hexes me and I'm the one to get the punishment."

The crowd booed and he knew he was away without incident. Normally after such a speech he would bask in the adulation for a while before the inevitable descending of the Slytherin elite, who would dissect every word he had said and not allow him to escape until well after midnight. But he was in no mood for such distractions today. He lifted the charm and gracefully stepped out of the common room, the portrait hole closing with a thud and the voices that had just seconds ago been so loud and invasive giving way to a peaceful silence. He closed his eyes for a moment, briefly forgetting why he had rushed out here before a voice awoke him to his purpose.

"Nice speech. A little too repetitive if you ask me. And all that family stuff? Cut the fucking bullshit Edwards."

Rufus Edwards opened his eyes to see a short purple haired girl leaning casually against the opposite wall, a smirk plastered on her face as she looked at him expectantly.

"Always a pleasure Elle." he smirked back, enjoying the brief flash of anger that clouded her features.

"Only my friends call my that, as you well know."

"Friends? As in plural? We both know that you only have one Eleonora, if we can even call that a friendship. It's more like teacher and pupil is it not, the way you follow him around like a lost Hufflepuff. And where pray is the elusive Malfoy this evening. He more than most should have reason to believe in our cause. Does he want to be a pariah in his own house as well as the rest of the world?"

"He's around," Eleonora stated casually. "Some people just have a problem trusting you and your friends Edwards. Sure your words are pretty and those blue eyes are just so adorable but some of us remember what happened the last time this house began mindlessly following a shadowy group with a questionable name."

"You sound like Albus fucking Potter," Rufus said, his anger beginning to surface at the uncooperative girl in front of him. "The Unity group is the real thing Eleonora. No hidden agendas, no secret resurrection rituals or blood purity tests. We just want our basics rights in the Wizarding community back."

"If your so transparent then why all the secrecy Edwards? The out of sight meetings, the hidden identities. And your leader? La Volpe isn't it? The Fox. Very appropriate for someone who no-one has ever seen in public before. How can you trust someone that nobody knows?"

"I know enough. And I know that if he was to show himself in public he'd be thrown in prison quicker than you can say Slytherin."

"That's a bollocks excuse. If he believed in your struggle so much then he wouldn't even be afraid to take the killing curse for it."

Rufus seethed at the girl. Did she not understand? She had suffered just as much, maybe even more than him in this school thanks to the so-called 'golden generations' children, children who parroted their battle scarred parents words and presented them as facts to the rest of the world. She had been cursed, hexed, and abused her entire school life, with no promise of it ending when she finally broke free of this castle, yet still she did not show any inclination towards the cause. He knew the source of the problem was Scorpius Malfoy. The most talented wizard of his generation, the potential to be greater than them all, but unwilling to step outside his brilliant mind for even a second to help those who needed it. Eleonora was the only person he ever showed any signs of caring towards. The odd couple who acted above it all. Rufus felt the rage grow inside him at the sheer ignorance of them, the selfishness. He decided quickly to go on the offensive.

"Well my my, aren't we feeling brave this evening Elle? I didn''t realise you were allowed to engage in this sort of discussion without Malfoy's approval. Normally you just stand back and let him do all the actual work don't you? Tell me is that what you do in his bed as well?" Rufus sneered at her, knowing he'd hit his mark.

There was a sudden flash of red light and he was thrown back, crashing against the portrait hole with a thud and landing in a heap on the floor. He looked up just in time to see his wand fly into the raging girls hand as she stalked towards him, now wielding both weapons pointed right at his heart.

"You think you can mess with me like that you fucking prick?" she spat out.

Rufus was quiet for a second and then began to chuckle softly, soon turning into full blooded laughter.

"What have you got to laugh about dickhead?" Eleonora questioned, venom laced through her words.

"It's you Elle. So enthralled to your emotions that reason is thrown out the window. Tell me what would dear Scorpious say if he saw this? Saw you pointing my own wand at my chest? Do you think he would be impressed?"

Rufus saw the flicker of uncertainty in her eyes as the reality of the situation she had got herself into became clear. He waited for her to speak. She did not oblige, but after a few seconds she composed herself, lowered her wand and threw his back at him, which he caught deftly. He stood up with as much elegance as he could muster, brushing the dirt off his robes as he did so. Finally he turned around to see Eleonora, wand hanging limply by her side, looking at him with a mixture of defiance and regret.

"I apologise for the crass comments," he began, much to the shock of the witch in front of him. "They were uncalled for. However.."

His voice dropped to a near whisper.

"You do not point your weapon at me ever. Do you understand? You do not attack me again. You do not spread your rubbish about our movement. Otherwise I might start making my own enquiries. I might start asking questions about the Chamber of Secrets. What is it you two are getting up to down there Elle? Because I know you're not really sleeping with him, it's neither of your style. I've heard rumours, not pleasant ones at that, and for all your talk of how you don't trust me and Unity, its you two who are messing around with magic if they are to be believed, pushing it to dark places where you have no need to go. Just watch yourself Eleonora. Don't just blindly follow him. Because one day soon you're going to have to choose a side. Both of you are."

Eleonora studied him as he spoke, and she couldn't help but feel a chill. His eyes were steel and his voice harsh and she understood now why Scorpius had warned her about him, specifically telling her it was a bad idea to get involved with him, a piece of advice which she had predictably ignored. She had waited by the portrait hole earlier, knowing he would follow her if he caught a glimpse, knowing they would have this confrontation. She did not however expect to lose control like she had. He got to her there was no doubt about it. He had a certain power about him. Yes she knew she could batter him in a duel, but if Scorpious had taught her anything it was that there were different kinds of power, more subtle and artistic kinds and Rufus was certainly a master of them. But she would not give him the satisfaction of thinking he'd won. Not today. She cleared her mind like she had been taught, stowed her wand away and turned to leave before delivering her parting shot.

"I know which side I'm on Edwards," she began.

"My fucking side."


	2. Inhale Deeply, Exhale Slowly

_"There has to be a line" - Scorpius Malfoy_

* * *

"Where the fuck is he?" Eleonora groaned in frustration.

She had looked everywhere she could think to look, the library, the great hall, the kitchens, the Chamber, or 'evil lair' as she had taken to calling it just to piss Malfoy off, but still she hadn't caught a glimpse of the boy. She kicked the wall in frustration, wincing as her foot connected with the stone wall. She had recently managed to temper such violent outbursts until her run in with Edwards, which made her lack of self control today a worry. One conversation with the boy and months of having Scorpious perform Legilimency on her until she could block him out was wasted. She looked out of the window, watching the rain lashing down and staring at her own watery reflection. Began to feel that familiar self hatred boil up inside of her. She was pulled away from her contemplation of how far it was to the ground and how much it may hurt if she just crashed through the glass by a soft glowing light away towards the great lake. She squinted against the rain and saw what looked to be a figure leant against a tree overlooking the water.

"Of course," she thought wryly. "Of course he'd be in the last place anyone would ever think to be on a day like this."

She rushed down the stairs, taking two at a time, high fiving Peeves on the second floor as he was in the middle of doing something extremely obscene to a portrait of some 16th century nobleman. Laughed at his cackle as she rushed past him, finally reaching the entrance hall in record time. She braced herself as she walked through the double doors and out into the courtyard, immediately feeling the rain hammer against her face. Pulled her hood tighter and set off towards the lake and the stupid twat who had decided it was a nice day for a fucking picnic.

She found him deep in contemplation. He appeared to have erected a kind of tarpaulin next to the tree, could see where he had charmed it to meld into the oak so he could lean against the bark. Eyes closed, cigarette dangling from his mouth. He looked, all in all, like a dickhead.

"You taking up poetry or something Malfoy?" she sneered at him as she approached. "Gazing out onto the lake in the pouring fucking rain like some kind of lovesick Gryffindor."

The boy snapped out of his reverie, turning his head towards her with the smile on his face that she knew was reserved only for her.

"Yes," he began, rearranging his features to his stone cold serious expression. "I'm currently lamenting the state of human existence through the form of haiku. Do not mock me Eleonora for my heart will surely never recover."

"Yeah, yeah," she grinned as she plonked herself down beside him under the shelter. "You're heartbroken I'm sure. Few questions though. Firstly, why are you really sitting in the rain looking like a twat? Secondly, where have you been for the last two days? And most importantly, what the fuck is a haiku?"

"A haiku is a form of Japanese poetry. Fascinating stuff really. To truly express yourself through language when confined to such restrictive parameters is…"

"Yeah, I'm really trying to care Malfoy, but I just can't bring myself to," Elle interrupted with her default sarcastic tone. "I haven't seen you in two days! This is the longest we have gone without speaking since that time in third year when your Mum and Dad took you to Paris for a week. And even then you still owled." she continued accusingly.

"God don't remind me of that fucking nightmare. Family bonding time with the Malfoy's. Always a storming time. Can't believe they even let us in the country to be honest, what with all the restrictions Clearwater's immigration bill has placed on those with the mark on their arm. And their children as well. And anyone affiliated with the noble house of Slytherin in any way. Absolute joke."

"Never took you for a believer Malfoy. Tell me, have you gone for the basic Unity membership package, or the special one where I'm told you get a free badge?"

"I've set my terms out clearly for them. I will not join unless Warrington gives me his novelty Unity branded hat." They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"But seriously," Scorpius continued. "You know they have actually banned my Mother from Wales? Wales! Dunno why she wanted to go there in the first place but still, every place has its charms I suppose."

"There is nothing charming about Wales." Elle replied with a laugh.

"Now that just racist." and they both cracked up again.

Once her laughter had subsided, Elle turned to look at the blonde haired wizard beside her as he flicked his cigarette into the lake, before promptly taking another from his pack and lighting it with the tip of his wand. Inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, closing his eyes once more. She had known him long enough to know that he was troubled. She prided herself on being probably the only person alive who could read him with a moderate level of success. She knew him as well as anyone ever would, but still there were things he held back. She understood. There were things from her own childhood that she would probably never voice to him. He knew them of course. All those hours invading her mind until she could repel him had shown him things that she had sworn she would never let anyone see. But he had never brought it up afterwards. Had always picked her up off the ground and made her go again. Always knew when to stop though, always knew when they had relived something that was too much for her to take. And the next evening she would try even harder to bury those thoughts and memories, lock them behind a door that even Scorpious couldn't open. She was stronger for it and they were closer, even if it remained unspoken. Now however, she felt a growing frustration at the silent figure next to her.

"Spit it out then Malfoy. Where the hell have you been?" she asked, the previous banter between the two forgotten.

Scorpius sighed and gazed once more out to the lake. Watched the Giant Squids languid movements through the water, obviously enjoying the heavy rain that was caressing its body. After what seemed like an age he answered his friend.

"I went to find Bane." he said simply

"And you didn't fucking tell me?" Elle half shouted. "I was supposed to come with you."

"Yes because your last meeting with him went so well." Scorpius drawled sarcastically.

"Look it's not my fault that that Centaur hates all human beings."

"He doesn't hate me. We get on splendidly."

"Splendidly? Have we gone back to the 1920's? Besides, you can't just go running off like that. We are supposed to be in this together. I presume this cosy meeting had something to do with our little project, something which I have an equal stake in."

"Fair point. Look I'm sorry. If it makes you feel better it was a wasted trip."

"You didn't find him?"

"Oh no I found him fine. Took me a day longer than I expected though. The forbidden forest is deceptively large."

"Well it is called a forest. It's not the forbidden 'one bed terrace with spacious patio area' is it?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind." Elle sighed. "Continue."

"As I said I found him eventually. But the news was not good."

"Fuck." Elle exclaimed. "It's gone then?"

"Yes apparently so. Our own Professor Longbottom is to blame for this one. Went back about two years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Camped in the forest for three months under Harry Potter's orders until he found it. Supposedly he destroyed it there and then according to Bane."

"Are you sure you trust him?" Elle questioned, as she finally gave in and stole a cigarette from Scorpious's pack. "Centaurs are not exactly known for their honesty when it comes to human relations.."

"You're right of course," Scorpius stated "But he had no real reason to lie. The story adds up with what we already suspected. Didn't know Longbottom had it in him, but it makes sense when you think about it. No way could they leave the Resurrection Stone lying about next to a school full of messed up kids. Just imagine if someone picked it up. It would fuck anybody up if they weren't prepared for what they would see."

"I guess," Elle replied thoughtfully. "But why destroy it? Why not take it to the Department of Mysteries? The things that could be accomplished with it…."

"Precisely," Scorpious interrupted. "Just look at the Ministry now. Look how scared they are of any capability. Any exceptional talent. Anything that rocks the status quo. Fuck, any progress. And imagine how much worse it would have been right after the war. Harry Potter retired from auror duty just three years into the job. People grew afraid of what he might become, he himself became afraid of his own power. And now the saviour of the wizarding world is a recluse, content to let the world that he was a part of building crumble in a sea of discrimination and hate. Fucking coward."

"He did kill like the greatest wizard of all time Scorpius."

"Yes with a disarming spell," he sneered. "Cant have been that great if he couldn't deflect Expelliarmus. I could do that before I could walk."

"You know there was more to it than that."

"Yes I know," Scorpius muttered defeated. "Frustrates me that's all. The things we could of done with that stone Elle. Just imagine. The potential we could have unlocked."

"Yeah well, maybe it's for the best."

"Oh come on Elle. Don't go cold on me now. You wanted this as much as me."

"Not denying that Malfoy, but come on. Even for us this was big. Maybe too big, I don't know. And whose to say that even if we had it in our hands right now we could do anything with it? As talented as you are…"

"As talented as we both are Elle." Scorpius interrupted, correcting her. "We've been through this. Look at what we've achieved so far, the advancements we've made. The things we've created. Us. Together. Not me."

"Ah aren't you sweet," Elle laughed sarcastically. "Let's not have this argument again though. That fucking self help book you got me last Christmas was enough. One of the chapters actually has the title 'A Woman's Struggle'."

"Look I've apologised for that a million times," Scorpius grinned. "It was a bit funny though."

Elle went to hit him but couldn't stop her own smile from forming. This was how it had always been between the two of them. So easy. Everything about their relationship was just that. Easy. Never stunted or awkward, never an argument that couldn't be fixed with a joke or a smile. It often amazed Elle when people described the Malfoy heir as cold and strange, as dark and enigmatic. But then again people described her as a crazy mad bitch. Around each other they could be themselves. Just Scorpious and Eleonora against everyone else. It was the only functional relationship in either of their lives really and she thanked Merlin every day that Scorpious had walked round that corner on that first day. Day zero for both of them she supposed.

"Back to more important matters though," Elle shook herself from her thoughts and began. "No use arguing about something that doesn't exist. What's the next plan?"

"I don't' know," Scorpious replied much to Elle's surprise. "I've been sat here since this morning running ideas around. Some with potential. We'll go over them tomorrow and you can pitch some. I know you're keen to work on that Polyjuice upgrade. Despite the ethical implications…."

"Fuck ethics. Since when did we draw a line? And it's not that bad anyway. I'm stunned no-one's done it before to be honest. I mean changing appearance permanently is an attractive proposition for many who aren't fortunate enough to be metamorphmagus. Hey, maybe we can give you a tan! The whole ghost white vampire thing you've got going on is so three years ago bro."

"Very droll. And it has been done before it's just they never got it through the Ministry Health department. I'm uneasy with it too to be honest. And yes, there has to be a line Elle. Always."

"It's a sure fire money maker Malfoy! And when daddy eventually cuts you off, which will undoubtedly be in the next year, no offence, we are going to need some serious capital. And I'm not selling drugs again. We could hire you out to lonely old pure-blooded women for the night I suppose."

"Again, very funny. Fuck I'm too tired to function properly right now. Something will come up. Anyway, what have I missed the last few days? I don't suppose Filch has killed himself in my absence has he? No? One can only dream."

"You missed a Unity meeting tonight."

Elle watched as her friends face darkened. He had always been suspicious of the new movement that was gathering momentum. And Rufus Edwards. Decided to leave out the part where she almost knocked him out. It would only worry him. Decided to ease into the conversation.

"And what was the esteemed Rufus talking about tonight?" Scorpius asked.

"The usual shit. Something about sleeping and family and the Weasley 'dynasty'. He's getting the support though Scorp and it's only a matter of time before he runs out of patience with us."

"I know," he sighed. "And we need them on side, at least for now. Can't burn all the bridges available to us. Maybe it is time we threw our weight behind him. I mean the principles they preach are no different from our own really. And a boiling point is coming, everyone knows it. If Ron Weasley gets Minister then god knows what will happen."

"No. There has to be another way. We are not joining them. I don't trust the whole thing. And you don't either."

"You're right of course. For now, we'll just let it play out. I'll make a bit more effort with them though. As should you. Try and avoid Edwards though. He's a clever boy and will try to play us, I know it. He likes the game as much as the cause if you want my opinion. There's more to him than meets the eye and until we can suss him out there is nothing to be gained by palling up to him or worse, riling him up."

Elle swallowed nervously as Scorpius carried on talking. Didn't like keeping things from him but could not deal with an argument right now. Tuned back into the conversation.

"… yes people like Goyle and Kenton. Melanie Gonzales as well. The middle management as it were. A few favours here and there wouldn't do us any harm."

Elle was surprised to see it had stopped raining as she agreed with her friend but was even more surprised as she looked up and observed the scene on the other side of the lake. Scorpius, still lost in his musings was oblivious. She let out a chuckle.

"Well here's your chance to score some points with our new friends Scorp."

"What?"

"We might be able to get you that hat without the membership fee as well." she grinned, nodding over towards the other side of the lake.

Because Gale Warrington was currently squaring off with none other than Rose Weasley.


	3. Bridges

_"I didn't see you down there" - Rose Weasley_

* * *

Eleonora smirked at the sight in front of her. This was exactly what she needed after the debacle with Edwards earlier and the bad news Scorpius had just imparted. There were few people in this world she enjoyed winding up more than Rose Weasley. Couldn't stand the witch, neither could Scorpius. If Albus Potter was the King of Gryffindor, and thereby the school, then Rose was definitely the Queen. Her hatred for the Slytherin house was fierce, probably even stronger than her aforementioned cousin. Elle had to admit that she was a beautiful girl, but more importantly she was a very good witch. She could even give herself a good duel if it came to it. Not Scorpius though. Only Potter himself could even hold a candle to her best friend, and even then the smart money would be on the Malfoy boy. She couldn't help but admire the balls on Warrington here though. Because he wasn't a particularly good wizard, more known for his talent on the Quidditch pitch as a beater than for his wandwork and duelling capacity. But here he was, toe to toe with one of Slytherin's biggest foes and he didn't even look hesitant. This was going to end badly. Excellent. She turned to look at Scorpius with a grin.

"Yes I know," Scorpius said without glancing at her. "Just let me take the lead on this one ok?"

"Spoil all my fun why don't you." she muttered darkly before stalking after him towards the commotion on the lakes edge. The arrived unseen behind Weasley and another brown haired girl who neither of them recognized but appeared to be the cause of the argument.

"I don't believe you Warrington!" the red-headed Weasley was shouting. "You purposely fired that bludger towards us! You almost killed Lucy you maniac!"

Both Scorpius and Elle noticed the brown haired girl who they assumed to be Lucy whispering in Rose's ear, obviously trying to diffuse the situation, but Rose it seemed was not backing down, and neither for that matter was Warrington.

"I've told you Weasley, it was an accident. We couldn't see anything in the rain and you were both wandering round near the pitch despite the fact we were playing. I've even apologised which is a very hard thing for a Slytherin to do to a Gryffindor so just move on with your pathetic life. I'm sure you've got a date with the library or something." Warrington fired back.

"Yeah, cos you're just swimming in date offers Warrington. Girls love that too many bludgers to the face look. Oh no sorry, they just love the whole death eater dad angle."

Warrington was clearly furious as he, Henry Zabini and Aaron Crenshaw, who had at first just been interested observers, drew their wands at the same time, pointing them at the two girls in front of them. Death Eater jibes did not go down well with Slytherins, particularly Unity members.

"Shut your mouth Weasley, or I'll do it for you." he growled as menacingly as he could.

Rose, whose own wand was now pointing at Warrington began to laugh. "Come on now Gale. You are too funny. You really have the guts for this?"

"I think that is our cue." Scorpius whispered to Elle, and they both moved into each sides line of sight.

"Evening Gale," Scorpius drawled. "Zabini, Crenshaw. And Rose Weasley as well. All looking so very angry. What have we stumbled into here then Elle?"

Eleonora smirked as she felt the atmosphere change. Scorpius was drawn up to full height and had moved into the middle of the group with all wands aimed in his direction. He had nothing to be afraid of though and everyone knew it. The arrogance had slipped off Weasley's face as she tried to figure out her next move. The Slytherin boys on the other hand held expressions of undisguised fear. But she noted with curiosity the look of interest on this Lucy's face as she gazed at the blonde Malfoy. There wasn't fear there, wasn't lust, it was just…. Well she couldn't put her finger on it. She quickly filed away the information for later and returned her full attention to the scene unfolding before her.

"Stay out of this Malfoy. This has nothing to do with you." Weasley spat out, clearly deciding on attack as the best form of defence.

"Oh I know. But hey, a girls got to get her kicks somehow." Scorpius responded with a smirk. "Now, be a good boy Gale and run along."

Warrington's eyes flicked around. He was clearly struggling with some inner turmoil, a fact that became more apparent when he appeared to take a deep breath and steel himself.

"I'm not going anywhere until I teach this bitch a lesson Malfoy, so get out of my way!"he shouted much to the shock of everyone present.

Eleonora couldn't believe the audacity of him. She was almost impressed. However, Scorpius was clearly in no mood and within a blink of an eye he was nose to nose with Warrington. Elle swore the sky darkened as his eyes turned to black pins, staring at the boy, reducing him quickly to a quaking mess who could barely hold the gaze. There staring match went on for what seemed like an age before Warrington could take no more and cast his eyes down. Scorpius leaned in and Elle was close enough to hear him whisper in the other boys ear.

"You overstep Gale. And what would Rufus Edwards do if he found us in this situation? You, about to duel a Weasley in plain view of the whole castle? A PR nightmare for your precious Unity. Did you not hear his latest mandate? Use your head. And leave."

Warrington and his cronies quickly scampered, leaving Scorpius and Elle alone with Rose and this unknown Lucy.

"Apologies, Rose," Scorpius began. "Gale can get a bit overexcited, especially when he hasn't hit anything for five minutes. And please put your wand away. It's very rude."

Rose did as asked, stowing her wand in her robes but scowled at Scorpius.

"That was between me and him Malfoy. No-one asked you to interfere. No-one ever asks you."

"I did you a favour Weasley. You know how it goes in this school. You fight a Slytherin, a Slytherin has to defend said Slytherin and fight you. And seeing as me and Elle were the Slytherin's in question bound by code to defend our utterly gormless housemate, I'd say you had a lucky escape. Unless you wanted to spend the next week in the hospital wing."

"Two weeks." Elle interjected with a smirk, laughing outwardly as the girls face grew redder with anger.

"Oh hello Eleonora," Rose recovered. "I didn't see you down there, worshipping at Malfoy's feet."

Elle closed her mind to the anger that was threatening to engulf her and merely smiled menacingly at the red head. She would not let her get to her today. Not in front of Scorpious at any rate.

"Careful Weasley." Scorpius warned.

"Yeah, yeah. And is that really how it goes Malfoy? Because I've heard a rumour that Edwards has told your whole house to put down their wands. Wants you to just bend over and take it like the true cowards you are. Say it ain't so." Rose sneered at the two.

"Maybe he has. But since when did we play by anyone else's rules Rose? Don't forget who you're talking to here. It may not be good for your health." Scorpius growled menacingly.

Rose's face grew a shade whiter but she quickly recovered and pressed on.

"Where have you been for the last few days anyway Malfoy? Off attempting to resurrect Voldemort with your daddy?" she bit.

"No, I was just indulging in a spot of muggle torture this time. Anyway, nice of you to ask. Do you often notice when I'm not around Rosie? I've told you before it can never work between us." Scorpius mocked.

"You wish Malfoy. I was more concerned about your puppy over there," Rose replied, nodding to Elle. "She just looked so lost without her owner around."

Elle laughed. "You were barking up the wrong tree Scorp. It's me she's been noticing. How about it then Weasley? Me and you, Room of Requirement, tonight? I can make you forget all about Finnegan's tiny cock with my little finger." she winked suggestively.

She could sense Scorpius desperately attempting to keep his mask of casual indifference up as he held back his laughter. Weasley sure was a picture. Red as a tomato, spluttering out incoherent nonsense. Strange though was that Elle could have sworn that her friend, this Lucy, was trying her best not to laugh as well.

"Sorry Weasley? Didn't quite catch that," Elle taunted. "I'll have you screaming my name by 8 o'clock if you'll just let me have a taste."

This time, neither Scorpious or Lucy could hold back a snort of laughter. Elle looked at the girl strangely before glancing to Scorpius, who must also have noticed the girls odd behaviour judging by his curious gaze.

"That's enough Elle," he chuckled. "No need to embarrass her anymore."

He then looked directly at the mysterious Lucy, who surprisingly stared back unflinchingly.

"Who's your friend Weasley?"

Rose just about regained her ability for coherent speech to say "My cousin, Lucy. Not that it's any of your business."

"Oh, for fuck sake," Elle groaned. "How many of you lot are there? And how do you all fit in the trailer?"

"I said play nice Elle," Scorpius sighed. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lucy. I must confess to never noticing you before. But I'm sure you understand how trying it is to be around your family and why I'd want to avoid it."

They both knew what they were doing. The fastest way to get a Weasley to react was to insult there obscenely large family in some way. Duelling normally ensured. Indeed, Rose was snarling in anger beside her. But this one had piqued both there interest and they were testing as to whether she would react the same. If she did, then another enemy to add to the list. However, when she merely smiled at them both in a slightly condescending way, they knew that she was worth keeping an eye on. Always useful to have a friend in a den full of enemies. Information gathered and slightly bored of all the to do, Scorpius began to wrap up proceedings.

"Not very talkative Lucy? Never mind, I'm sure we'll bump into each other again soon. Rose, as always…."

"LEAVE THEM ALONE!"

Scorpious was cut off mid sentence by the figure of Tommy Finnegan storming towards them. A tall, sandy haired chaser on the Gryffindor team, Finnegan was Albus Potter's best friend and more importantly, Rose Weasley's boyfriend, and he was rushing towards the group, snarling in anger.

"Finnegan, excellent!" Scorpius mock exclaimed. "We really needed someone to bring the IQ level back down in this little tete a tete, and as always your stupidity comes storming in to save the day. We should never have doubted you."

"Shut it snake!" Finnegan retorted angrily before turning to Rose. "Are you ok babe?"

Eleonora made a retching sound causing Lucy to again snort with laughter. Oblivious, Finnegan continued.

"Is he bothering you? Did he do anything? Cos I swear if he did…"

"You'll what Finnegan?" Scorpius hissed.

Again, Elle marvelled at the dark turn in atmosphere he could achieve with just a few words. The previous conversation with Rose, although barbed was still reasonably light, despite the mutual animosity. Both sides were not stupid enough to start anything too serious, therefore it was really just a way for them to pass the time. Let off some steam. But with Finnegan's appearance and comment, the situation had took a turn for the worse. Eleonora fingered her wand in her pocket, ready if he was dumb enough to go too far.

"Come on Finnegan. Finish the sentence." Scorpius continued, his ice cold menace sending chills up even Elle's spine.

"Just leave it Tommy," Rose implored. "He didn't do anything."

"Like hell he didn't!" he replied. "Watch yourself Malfoy. Cos Gryffindor has plans for you and your slut over there. Whilst he doesn't normally go in for sloppy seconds, Potter's taken a real shine to her if you know what I mean..."

In a flash, hell broke lose. Well, Gryffindor hell. Within a moment of his comment, and after a quick nod from Scorpius to confirm that action should be taken, Elle had her wand pressed hard against Finnegan's throat, his own lying thirty feet away after a quick disarming spell. Whilst this was happening, Rose had attempted to help her boyfriend, but she found herself immobilised by a lazy flick of Scorpius' wand. He had then turned to subdue Lucy Weasley, but as he met her eyes she just smiled that smile again and turned away, starting back up towards the castle. He laughed and then turned to the static body but darting eyes of Rose, forcing her to watch her prick of a boyfriend be humiliated by his best friend, who was currently tracing her wand along Finnegan's throat.

"Is that so Tommy? You think any of you can touch me? You think any of you are capable?" she breathed in his ear, moving her wand up to his cheek. "Such a pretty face. Be a shame to ruin it."

Finnegan gasped as a thin line of crimson began to trail after Elle's wand as it glided over his bare skin.

"But I will Tommy. I'll make it so even Rose over here won't want to fake an orgasm with you any more. I'll make it so even your own whore of a mother won't recognize you. Got it?"

When she failed to get an answer, she pressed her wand back against his throat and ran her tongue over his blood stained cheek.

"Got it?" she repeated, and this time Finnegan nodded.

"Good boy."

And with that she flicked her wand and Tommy Finnegan flew through the air and plunged unceremoniously head first into the Great Lake.

"What was that about bending over and taking it Rosie?" Scorpius sneered. "Tell Potter his cubs are getting too bold and that if he wants a war then he can fucking have one. Whatever Rufus Edwards may say."

With a final scowl from Scorpius and a smirk from Elle the two departed the scene leaving Finnegan wrestling the Giant Squid and Rose still immobilised.

"Well," Elle began as they headed up towards the castle. "What were you saying about not burning bridges earlier?"

Scorpius smirked at her.

"Yeah, I've reassessed our position."


	4. Theatre

_"We have never pretended to be anything but selfish" - Scorpius Malfoy_

* * *

Word quickly spread of the incident by the lake involving the two warring factions. Eleonora noticed that they were being given an even wider berth than usual by most students as they went about their week and that whispers followed them wherever they went. She had to admit it had been an uncharacteristically aggressive move on hers and particularly Scorpius' part that day, but she was still surprised at the ripple it had caused. The fact that Scorpius had called Albus Potter out by name, seemingly inviting retaliation, just added to the rumours. She had only caught a glimpse of the Potter boy once since but it had been fleeting. Word in the corridors had it that he was furious, but so far nothing had been heard from the Gryffindor camp. Plenty had been from Rufus Edwards and his followers though. Scorpius and herself were getting a decidedly mixed reception in the Slytherin dungeons. Those fiercely loyal to Edwards had been sending them death glares all week, but most were treating them like conquering heroes, much to the dismay of the Unity leader. Edwards had been using all his wannabe politicians diplomacy to defuse the situation before it got out of hand. Eleonora had even seen him apologising on their behalf to Finnegan the day before and he had now finally caught up with them after Herbology.

"Scorpius, Eleonora, a word please."

Eleonora groaned loudly, causing Scorpius next to her to chuckle.

"Yes Rufus," the Malfoy answered. "What can we do for you?"

"Walk with me." he said striding off towards the forest causing both of them to roll their eyes.

"Did he just say 'walk with me'?" Elle sniggered. "Prick."

Scorpius gestured for her to follow him. They caught up with Edwards outside the empty hut that apparently used to be the home of the Hogwarts gamekeeper, war hero and half giant Hagrid. It had been abandoned for the entirety of their school live however, and was a favourite spot for those who didn't want to be overheard, be it plotting pranksters or amorous couples. Eleonora had a feeling that this was going to be a more serious conversation than the walls were used to. After a couple of minutes silence she could take no more.

"Can we speed this along then Edwards? It's just that have I have literally anything else to do today than spend a moment longer than necessary in your company."

"Enough Elle." Scorpius interjected.

"Inside." Rufus stated.

The trio entered the hut and sat down at the large table in the middle of the room. Eleonora put her feet up on the chair opposite just as Edwards was about to pull it out, giving him her best Malfoy-esque smirk and Scorpius took out a cigarette and lit it, quickly filling the room with smoke.

"I'd rather you not do that around me Malfoy," Edwards said haughtily. "It even says it kills on the packet for God sake."

Scorpius took a long drag, just staring at Edwards for a moment who gazed unflinchingly back.

"As you wish." Scorpius sighed, crushing the embers underfoot.

"You two done measuring your dicks now?" Elle interjected.

"Quite," Rufus sneered at her. "I've been patient with the both of you but this time you have gone too far. You cannot go around attacking Weasley's in plain view of everyone! You know this."

"To be fair, we stopped Warrington from attacking darling Rosie," Elle informed him. "You should be grateful."

"Grateful?" Edwards raged. "You might have stopped Gale but then you fucking went and did it yourselves!"

"All in all a mixed day for us then." Scorpius laughed.

"It's not funny Malfoy. Do you even realise what you've done? Who cares if Warrington starts something with the Weasley's? He'll get himself battered and no-one will say anything more about it. The two of you though? The most feared wizard in the castle and his crazy sidekick? People notice. People start to talk. And people start plotting ways to bring you down. And the Unity group that is trying to do so much for this house gets drawn into it, despite the fact you have no affiliation with us whatsoever. We are guilty by perceived association. Can't you see that? Or let me guess, you just don't give a shit."

There was a long pause.

"To be honest, all I got from that was that I'm described as a 'sidekick'." Elle ventured.

Rufus let out an exasperated sigh and slumped back into his chair.

"Look, Rufus," Scorpius spoke up. "Tommy Finnegan tried to threaten us. Tommy fucking Finnegan! The boys so dense that light bends around him."

"What's your point?"

"The point is that you've made us all look like fucking cowards with your wands down rule! I'm all for reining in some aggression, but when it gets to the stage where someone like Finnegan is coming at someone like me without hesitation then something is seriously wrong."

"And how are we supposed to ever be accepted in wizarding society in the future if we don't make these sacrifices now?" Edwards questioned angrily. "The reality of the situation in the world we live is that the Slytherin is always guilty therefore we have to be whiter than white. Did you see yesterday's paper?"

Scorpius had seen it. Elle had showed him it at the breakfast table yesterday and it had shocked him. The headline story was that of a twenty year old former Slytherin student who had apparently murdered a man in broad daylight last month. The thing was that anyone who knew Joanne Joyce knew that it was all bullshit. Scorpius remembered her as a quiet, shy and sweet girl who wouldn't even harm an overly annoying Cornish Pixie. What's more, the story just didn't add up. The facts presented made little sense when put into context with the witness statements that the Prophet had also printed. To any Slytherin reading, it was a pure fit up.

"Of course I saw," Scorpius brought himself out of his head to continue the conversation. "And I feel bad for her, I really do. But I am not willing to let myself be abused by people who I don't even need a wand to beat."

"For God sake Scorpius! How selfish can you be?" Rufus exclaimed.

"We have never pretended to be anything but selfish Rufus." Scorpius replied quietly.

There was a long silence as both sides lost themselves in thought. It was broken by an unusually serene Eleonora.

"Look, Edwards, I don't fucking like you. You know that. But I do respect what you're trying to be. It's just that you're going about it the wrong way. By encouraging everyone to just take all the shit they give us then you're going to create a culture of weakness. I'm not just going to take it and nor should any of us. You're not going to change anything in this castle whatever you do. Maybe in the future, when you're out in the real world you can make a difference. But here and now? No."

Rufus appeared to ponder her words. Elle looked at him, really looked at him for the first time today, and she was shocked at how tired he seemed. His eyes that normally burned with passion were dim and every small movement seemed laboured. He sighed and then let out a quiet laugh.

"Did you really offer Rose Weasely sex?"

All three of them laughed before Rufus continued.

"Look, whether I agree with you or not, which I don't for the record, it appears I have little choice anyway," he sighed. "I've had this same argument, although not as eloquently, with the Unity members all week. It seems that most of them agree with you. This is not a dictatorship so I'm going to have to bow to the pressure and reverse the mandate. I've given up on hoping you two will act with any self control or thoughts towards others, but hopefully the rest of our house will not take this as a sign to hex any Gryffindor on sight."

Elle glanced towards Scorpius, raising her eyebrows. Neither of them had thought that they would cause such discontent amongst the normal pack like mentality of the Hogwarts Unity movement. They had underestimated their own influence within their own house, for however much people cheered on Rufus Edwards, everyone knew that Scorpius Malfoy was a name to be both feared and respected. Eleonora Jago too maybe. Edwards voice drifted into her consciousness and she was surprised to hear her thoughts being echoed by the boy in front of her.

"You are both leaders in this house whether you want to be or not. People look up to you. Both of you. The examples you set will be followed however much I may encourage otherwise. So I am asking you now, please, to try to stay out of trouble. And try to keep our other housemates out of trouble as well if that is not too much to ask."

Scorpius looked at Rufus intently before nodding his head slowly.

"Okay. You reverse your wands down mandate and we will try to stop anything from getting too out of hand."

"Will you reconsider your position on Unity as well?"

"Don't push your luck Edwards," Scorpius grinned. "I'm not built to be a follower."

"Fair enough." Rufus replied and stood up extending his hand towards both of them, quickly and firmly shaking before leaving through the front door with a final wave.

* * *

Eleonora stood up and went to the window, checking that he was really gone before turning to Scorpius.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I don't know."

"He looked tired."

"Yes, well….." Scorpius trailed off and lit a cigarette, offering the pack to Elle who declined this time.

"What?" Elle questioned. "What is it?"

Scorpius watched as the smoke formed patterns in the huts air before replying.

"I think we may have just been witness to a carefully planned and brilliantly executed piece of theatre."

"You didn't buy it either then?"

"Not for a second," Scorpius frowned. "You have to admire him though. He was so convincing."

"What's his game then?"

"I've no idea. That was all a performance to get us on his side. Playing the weakened leader to make us believe that he needs us when it couldn't be further from the truth. Massaging our egos so we let our guard down."

"And you just went along with it. Why?" Elle frowned. "What is to be gained from aligning ourselves with someone we know is trying to play us?"

"Maybe nothing. But how are we supposed to figure him out if we just shut him down? And to be honest in the short term, we might need their help if Potter comes at us hard."

"Really poor choice of words there Scorp." Elle snickered.

"Just no Elle," Scorpius groaned. "What's the time?"

"Quarter to. We've got Potions next."

Scorpius groaned again. Really not what he needed right now.

"Hey on the plus side it's the weekend after." Elle attempted.

"Thank God. Oh and by the way we have to go to London tomorrow. The Goblins have something for us."

"Fine. But I swear if one of them tries to feel me up again I will be hexing them straight to St Mungo's."

Scorpius laughed and stood up.

"You could do worse you know." he said slyly.

"Twat."


	5. Deception

_"They all just forget I exist" - Eleonora Jago_

* * *

Eleonora could be found a week later reclining on a chaise long in the Chamber of Secrets. Her and Scorpius had discovered it in second year and had spent a considerable amount of time since making it fit for their purpose. To be honest Scorpius would probably have been happy to just leave it in the state it was in when they had first found it, as long as there was enough room for his projects. Elle on the other hand needed the dark dungeon to have at least some resemblance to normality so had gone about fixing it up, adding charmed windows like was seen in the Ministry and a vast array of ridiculous looking furniture. She had always had a soft spot for antiques, loved the stories hidden within them. The current piece she was dozing on had belonged to a member of the French Royal family just before the muggle revolution, at least according to the witch she bought it from last week. How far you can trust a one eyed firewhisky soaked prostitute who frequented Knockturn Alley was another matter, but she liked to think she had got a bargain.

She had been down in the Chamber for some time, working on her appearance changing potion. Of course, appearance could be changed temporarily by a number of different methods, even permanently if you went down the muggle route or some of the more experimental wizarding techniques. However, the wizarding world had always been opposed to the issue, a stance that had become even more cemented since the war. Couldn't have Death Eaters changing their faces now could they. Also of course, the Ministry always had to be seen to be the moral voice of society. Elle knew where they were coming from. She herself would never do it willing. Her appearance was one of the only things she quite liked about herself if she was honest. No, this project was a pure business venture. A potion that could be tailored to change everything about you, height, weight, hair colour, eye colour, anything. Permanently. That would sell, legally or illegally. She already had some interest from a Russian Mafia affiliated gang of wizards who she and Scorpius had sold a couple of potions to the year before. Had bumped into them in the Crevice (the seedier version of the Leaky Cauldron), down Knockturn last week after their meeting with Nagnok and his motley goblin crew. She had ended up having a couple of Vodka's too many, much to Scorpius' amusement, and had apparently been getting a bit touchy feely with one of the more attractive members of the gang. Scorpious had not let her forget her embarrassing attempts at flirting since. The bloke had great tattoos though. Not the kind that guys have to make everyone think they're a bit edgy, but proper, 'I killed someone to get these' kinds. Not that she condoned murder of course. She was just attracted to danger. God she was such a cliché.

"Daydreaming about Vlad again Elle?"

* * *

Elle almost fell off her seat as Scorpius awoke her from her daze. Opened her eyes to see him standing over her bubbling potion, giving it a quick sniff.

"Needs more Oaktangle root." he said, before flopping down on the sofa next to it.

"No it doesn't. Besides we don't have any. We need to do another supply run."

"It'll have to wait until next month," Scorpius replied distractedly. "As you pointed out the other day, the funds are running a little low and Daddy is not going to be so forthcoming with his money from now on according to his latest letter. When I say his letter, I mean the one he got his secretary to write."

"We can't be completely out."

"Well if you stopped paying hundreds of galleons for knock off chairs then we would maybe have a bit more left at the end of each month."

"Yeah, because that Unicorn painting you bought off Nagnok last week was an absolutely necessary purchase. Just look at it for fuck sake," she exclaimed, pointing to the monstrosity that now adorned the far wall. "I could have done that. No I'm serious, I literally could have painted that. If a three year old painted it, even their parents would say it was shit."

"It's called building relations Elle. They are useful to have on side. If we can't deal with the mainstream wizarding society face to face then we have to maintain goodwill with factions like the Goblins. It can't all be good looking Russians in this game."

"More's the pity," Elle sighed. "So what have we got coming in next month?"

"Not much. The last instalment from that patent we sold to Weasley's joke shop, through the front company of course."

That had been one of Elle's more inspired ideas. When it had become apparent about two years ago that they were going to need to start making some of their own money to offset the cost of their more personal projects, she had suggested a sideline in more mainstream inventions. It would take up a fair share of their time, but it was a way to gain some capital reasonably quickly and easily. When Scorpius had pointed out that they could not just go out and sell stuff to big businesses considering their age and who they were, she had set up a front company to push the goods through. As long as everything they sold was kosher and pretty run of the mill then it would attract little suspicion. She had kept their name off everything and made sure anyone who followed the paper trail would go round and round in circles until they came to the conclusion that everything was in order. The money then got funnelled through a series of networks before settling in a quiet bank in the Swiss countryside. Fraud and deception were so easy she was surprised everyone wasn't at it. Anytime they had to take a meeting involving Taylor and Co (the most boring name she could think of), they just dressed one of their more cultured associates up in a suit, told them what to say and paid them a flat hundred galleons for their trouble. Of course, they could easily make money on the black market, but that also carried the risk and it was an unstable market. If the Law Enforcement hit the right target just once then the market could shut down for months at a time and they would be left with no-one to sell to and product just rotting in the Chamber. No, this gave them a steady stream of income that could be relied upon, even if the rewards weren't as great. But now she came to think of it, they hadn't sold anything legitimately or otherwise in months.

"God, has that run out already?" she asked.

"Yes," Scorpius sighed. "There's only so much shelf life on whatever piece of shit we sold them. What was it again?" He shuffled through some paperwork on the table next to him. "Ah yes, literally a piece of shit. Everlasting rose-scented shit. Which one of us threw all our dignity out the window by coming up with that gem?"

"That was you my friend." Elle laughed.

"Who the fuck buys these things anyway?" Scorpius flushed, embarrassed.

"First year Gryffindor's probably. Maturity levels of a two year old. Come to think of it, that covers all Gryffindor's. Well prepare to wave goodbye to some more dignity because we need some funds and quickly," Elle said assertively. "What have we got?"

Scorpius looked around, eyes resting on the rat cage on the other side of the room.

"Those fucking rats can go for a start. Might get some interest in animals that change colour every ten seconds. God I hate this stuff."

"Yes, I'm fully aware. But as you told me earlier, it can't all be drinks in clubs with the Russian Mafia," she smirked. "As long as we can get it past the animal rights lobby then yes, we should be able to get a deal with the Pet's Emporium for them. What about that cloak we charmed last year? The turn yourself into a ghost for five minutes one?"

"Oh god yes, get rid of that as well. Another one for Weasley. He loves all that shit. You know what, fuck it, just take everything from that side of the room. There's nothing important there. Loads of shit though , literally and figuratively."

"Good. Now we just have to do the paperwork and.."

"Do we have to," Scorpius moaned. "I was just getting somewhere with my multi Patronus charm. Just imagine, me, surrounded by an army of fearsome hawks. The ladies would love it."

"Compensating for something Malfoy?" Eleonora said lightly.

"Yes. It really is quite small."

Eleonora laughed so hard that she actually did fall off her chair this time. She quickly composed herself and stood up to address her friend.

"Okay, look, I'll do the paperwork. You'll just bitch the whole time anyway. It'll only take about a week."

"Thanks Elle." Scorpius grinned.

The brief silence was broken by a muted moan from the corner of the room.

"Quiet Dave for God sake!" Scorpius shouted across the chamber, his voice echoing.

Silence once again took hold. Elle was concentrating on the papers in front of her, working out where to start. Scorpius had pulled a snitch out of his pocket and was letting it fly a few feet away before snatching it out of the air. It was really annoying.

"You know you missed three lessons today right?" he said lightly, disturbing Elle from the task at hand again.

"Yes I am aware."

"Okaaay. You also realise that if you don't go to lessons then they'll kick you out?"

"Yes, also aware."

"Okaaay…Look I don't mean to go on about it Elle, but maybe you should take this a little more seriously. McGonagall's just looking for an excuse to get rid of you after last year."

"Relax Malfoy. What did I miss?"

"Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and Defence."

"Exactly. All lessons that no-one ever notices I'm not there in," Elle explained. "Oh and I've charmed the register so that my name disappears at the start of each lesson and reappears again with a big tick next to it at the end. They all just forget I exist for an hour and then when they check the register they assume I must have been there."

"Oh… you are good." Scorpius marvelled.

"Also aware."

"Hold on.. How come I've never noticed that?" he asked confused. "And how did I not think of it first?"

"Because I am more committed to the art of skiving than yourself. Well skiving lessons. You've perfected the art of skiving down here when there are boring but necessary things to do to keep us in credit." Elle snapped.

Scorpius laughed and stood up.

"Right, I'm going to dinner, you coming?" he asked

"No, I've got to stay here all night and make us some fucking galleons haven't I." she replied irritably.

"Of course. I'll bring something down for you later. And some firewhisky if you're lucky. Have I ever told you you're an absolute diamond?"

"Just fuck off Malfoy. Save your flattery for Parkinson."

Scorpius made a face. "Parkinson, please. I have standards."

"Make sure you tell her that then. I can't stand the pathetic stalker vibe she's got going on. It gives women everywhere a bad name."

"She's harmless enough. Can't blame someone for having great taste in men can you? Beside, I'm more worried about Potter on that front."

"You're gigantic ego aside, what are you on about?"

"He was staring at me very intently during Defence class. I think he likes me, as in more than just a friend if you know what I mean." Scorpius laughed, and with that he exited the chamber.

"Just you and me then Davo." Eleonora sighed, glancing across to a reinforced glass box that stood in the far corner of the room.

Behind the glass raged a gaunt, skeletal figure, an animated corpse with no conscious.

An Inferious.


	6. Honour Amongst Thieves

_"What money?" - Aberforth Dumbledore_

* * *

History of Magic had to be the biggest waste of time in existence Also, it should be called 'Highly Selective History of Magic' Elle thought. A whole hour spent listening to people lick Harry Potter's arse. I mean come on, relatively the war lasted about five minutes. What about the 'Hundred Year Goblin Rebellion' or the 'Chinese Banshee Pandemic' of the 1850's? Not even a look in. Binns was currently droning on about the defeat of the Giants during Voldemort's first attempted ascension to power, not even mentioning the fact that the Giants had been persecuted by the wizarding world for centuries before joining the Dark Lord's cause. An understandable reaction on the Giants part if you asked Elle. At least they had this class with the Hufflepuff's. It would have been unbearable to have to deal with Potter and his cronies smug faces as the Slytherin bashing went on and on.

Elle let her mind drift to more important matters as Binns continued on monotonously. The last couple of weeks had been very satisfactory in some ways. She had been stunned to see how many marketable inventions her and Scorpius had accumulated over the years when she was auditing the goods in the Chamber three weeks previously, and suddenly they had more money than they knew what to do with and it was continuing to flow in. Indeed, if they weren't so easily bored by such things then they could make a lucrative career out of it. However, it was other things that were occupying her mind at the moment. The bad news was that her appearance changing potion had hit a dead end. She was almost on the verge of asking Malfoy for help, but didn't want to admit defeat just yet. This was her own personal project, almost a way of proving something to rest of the world and more importantly to herself. Had always struggled with her self-esteem despite her hard as nails front, and was prone to long periods of depression which only Scorpius could ever pull her out of. Whether it was her upbringing or just how she was wired she didn't know. But back to her potion, she really could only see one possible option and it was not one she was willing to entertain. There must be another way.

As she was mulling over other roads to go down, there was a knock on the classroom door. She was surprised to see Scorpius enter the room, his eyes automatically seeking hers and conveying that something serious was afoot.

"Excuse me Professor," he began silkily. "The headmistress has asked to see Eleonora in her office. Says it can't wait."

Binns looked up as if surprised that someone other than him was speaking.

"Naturally, naturally. On you go then Daisy."

"My names Eleonora," Elle bit as she stood up. "E.L.E.O.N.O.R.A you daft bat."

"Quite. On you go then." Binns droned, apparently not even hearing the insult.

Elle rushed out the room to find Scorpius striding off down the corridor. Had to run to catch up with him.

"What's going on?" she asked, slightly breathless.

"Emergency message from Twig," he replied. "Wants a meet in the Hogs Head as soon as possible. Meaning we're late."

"Twig? That two bit thief? What the hell does he want."

"I don't know but he never, ever contacts us. He's normally harder to find than a honest Goblin so it must be important."

Twig was a well known character around the Knockturn Alley scene. A rakish man, hence the nickname, he had made his name as a teenage pickpocket in London before progressing to burglary, his natural aptitude for spotting and disabling defensive wards holding him in good stead. However he had soon fallen foul of the same trap that the majority of criminals fell into. His ego. He had eventually bitten of more than he could chew when he attempted to break into Hermione Weasley's, or Granger's as it still was back then, house. Had Law Enforcement on him before he even stepped foot in the garden. Since then his once promising career had gone from bad to worse, making Azkaban his second home over the years and he fell into a spiral of once beneath him petty crime and alcoholism. Shame to see such potential wasted. Elle and Scorpius had used him a couple of times, just for locating goods or people, as he was still extensively wired into the criminal underworld. It was amazing the information that could be gained in a pub as well, and Twig was a more than frequent visitor of all the shadier establishments around town. The problem was that because of his wide reaching contacts and his paranoia, he was almost impossible to find when you wanted to. As soon as he heard a whisper that someone was seeking him out he had a knack of disappearing. Elle herself had attempted to locate him last summer without success, only finding out later that he had given her the slip by about thirty seconds in the Crevice and then gone into hiding in Ireland for a month. She only wanted to ask him if he had any knock off cigarettes for sale.

"Hurry up, Elle." Scorpius snapped from some way ahead of her.

"Alright dickhead. Why are you so edgy? He probably only wants us to bail him out of whatever deep shit he's got himelf into this time."

"Maybe, but something's not right about this." Scorpius replied distractedly, striding off towards the school gates.

* * *

They entered the pub soon after, briefly recoiling at the stench of stale alcohol and cigarette smoke. Glanced around to find that Twig was nowhere to be seen. Scorpius strode up to the bar.

"Evening Abe." he directed towards the miserable looking barman.

"Malfoy. Jago."

"Twig been in today?"

"Why do you ask?"

Scorpius sighed at the uncooperative man in front of him. Slapped a bag full of Galleons on the bar in front of him.

"I ask again. Twig been in today?"

The barman pocketed the bag with a nod.

"Yeah he's been in."

Silence followed and Abe went back to cleaning glasses.

"For fuck sake," Elle groaned. "Abe stop being a prick."

To both of their surprise Abe turned back to them with a smile on his face.

"You can learn from this one Malfoy," he grinned. "Gets straight to the point, no pissing about or tedious aristocratic airs and graces like yourself. Twig's waiting in the cellar. I'll get some drinks sent down. On the house."

"The house will be taking the money out of the bag full of cash we've just given you I presume."

Abe scowled at Scorpius.

"What money?"

Scorpius laughed and gave Abe a nod, heading off towards the back and the stairs to the cellar. Eleonora followed swiftly, eager to hear what the thief had to say to them.

They entered the cellar to find Twig sitting on an upturned empty barrel smoking a roll up cigarette looking as dishevelled as ever. Glanced up when they entered but didn't speak, just looked around nervously.

"What do you want then Twig?" Scorpius asked leaning casually against the wall opposite. Elle positioned herself by the stairs, sitting on the top step and blocking any escape route. Despite the fact he had requested this meet, she was concerned by Twig's countenance.

"Scorpius, Eleonora. Nice to see you again. Apologies for last summer Elle. You know what it's like." he rasped, his voice sounding thinner than either of them remembered.

"You're the one who lost out on some cash Twig. No skin off my nose," she replied. "But stop stalling. What do you want?"

Twig went to speak but then appeared to think better of it, again glancing about nervously. The silence stretched before Scorpius ran out of patience.

"Right have it your way. Let's go Elle." he asserted making his way towards her and the stairs.

"Okay, okay. Wait," Twig shouted. "You sure you weren't followed?"

"Followed? Why would we be followed? Everyone thinks we're in school." Elle questioned, confused.

"We weren't followed Twig. Just spit it out."

"You're sure? I'm taking a huge fucking risk for you two Malfoy."

"What are you talking about Twig?" Elle asked, growing more worried by the second.

"Just start from the beginning." Scorpius said more gently than previously, seeing that the man in front of them was deeply troubled.

"Okay," Twig began. "So I was in the Ministry the other day due before the Wizengamot again. A frivolous charge I assure you."

"Yeah I heard about that. Is aggravated assault frivolous now? Why the hell are you not rotting in Azkaban right now? There were three eyewitnesses from what I heard." Elle sneered, not being able to help herself.

"I think you'll find I was cleared of all charges," Twig responded with a smirk. "Which brings us here."

"How so?" Scorpius questioned.

"You see, just before I went in, the auror handling my case went for a piss and left his briefcase in the hall…"

"Clever," Scorpius praised. "You gave the guards the slip for a moment and changed something on the paperwork I presume. Which dates?"

"The arrest date. He goes up in court, starts reeling off the facts like he's got me and my lawyer then bring up irregularities with the paperwork. Inadmissible evidence. Case dismissed. They were not happy." he grinned.

"I can imagine." Elle laughed, impressed with the man in front of her. There was still a sharp mind and survival instinct behind the alcohol shakes.

"Yes, yes," Scorpius said frustrated. "Very good Twig. But what does this have to do with us."

Twig, who had previously loosened up when talking about his latest scrape, went rigid again. Eyes darting around, sweat on his brow glistening in the soft light.

"It was what else was in the briefcase." he said nervously.

"What else was in the briefcase Twig?" Elle pressed.

The thief looked around again before appearing to make up his mind.

"This." he stated and threw a folder towards Scorpious who caught it deftly. Undid the bindings and opened it up. His face fell.

"Fuck."

* * *

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Scorpius muttered under his breath as he went through the files.

"What is it Scorp?" Elle questioned, moving from her position on the bottom step to stand next to him, peering over his shoulder at the contents of the paperwork. "Oh, fuck."

Before them was a series of photographs and transcripts of conversations. Photographs and conversations that showed her and Scorpius up to their necks in shit. A photograph clearly showing Scorpius taking cash from a known mobster for a potion, one of her outside Borgin and Burkes in conversation with the well known drug dealer Adelaide. A transcript of a supposedly private conversation between the two of them and Nagnok's crew. And that was just the start. She felt her heart sink as more and more evidence was presented as Scorpius flicked through the pages. Came to the end after what seemed like an age.

"It appears you're being watched." Twig broke the silence unnecessarily.

"You fucking think so Twig?" Eleonora barked. "God we're finished."

"You say it was an auror who you took this from?" Scorpius said as his sharp mind began to turn.

"I didn't take it," Twig replied. "I copied it. A quick duplication charm and then slipped it into my lawyers paperwork."

"Which lawyer? Did he see it?"

"Gerald Lambert. And yes, he saw it. But don't worry about him."

"I won't, Lambert's an expert in incompetence. He probably didn't even realise what he was seeing. How the hell did you get off with him fighting your corner?"

"Yeah, I had to actually explain the whole 'if the arrest's date's wrong then the evidence is in disrepute' thing four times. But he was all I could afford so…"

Elle could not believe the conversation they were having right now. Did they not grasp the severity of the situation?

"Yeah this is all fascinating, but can we return to the small matter of our whole life being ripped apart." she shouted.

"Calm down Elle." Scorpius soothed.

"Calm down? Calm down?" she exploded. "Are we even seeing the same thing here? Cos I'm seeing the rest of my life behind a cell door right now."

"No, no," Scorpius replied. "This is good, this is okay."

"What do you mean this is okay? NOT NOW ABE!" she yelled as the barman attempted to bring them their drinks. Shuffled off back up the stairs chastised.

"Just stop and think for a moment Elle," Scorpius said assertively. "Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement."

"Fuck off Yoda." she seethed.

"Think about it. Ask the question that needs to be asked."

Elle collected herself, calmed herself and cleared her mind. Began to think things through more rationally.

"Okay, so the auror's have got us under surveillance," she thought out loud, processing the information. "Well, partial surveillance. There's a lot of gaps but still enough to throw us in Azkaban and snap our wands. So the question is…..the question is…. Why are we not in prison? God why the hell haven't we been expelled?"

"Exactly," Scorpius said. "I mean on first glance, the worst they can get us for is a conspiracy charge but that still carries weight. What is it now Twig, three years?"

"Two if you get the right trial. Five to seven if you're really unlucky."

"Right…" Scorpius trailed off.

All parties were silent as they lost themselves in their own thoughts. Elle had gotten over the initial shock but was still shaking slightly. She could have kicked herself. They were smarter than this. Too smart to be photographed doing anything illegal. Ego and complacency. The things they had mocked others for, had admonished associates who had been brought down by the law for, and here they were, sixteen years of age and their future already in jeopardy because of the same thing. They needed time to process this. However there was something else nagging at her. Put her finger on it when she looked at the wreck of a man perched nervously on a butterbeer barrel.

"What's in this for you Twig?" she asked. "Why have you gone out of your way to show us this? If you're caught then you're straight back inside. We're not supposed to believe that this is all in the spirit of friendship are we? Not this level of risk."

"I was just thinking the same thing." Scorpius nodded.

"Well, we've got to stick together people like us haven't we?" Twig explained nervously.

"Cut the shit Twig." Elle demanded.

"I don't want anything now, seriously." he protested

"Now?" Scorpius questioned. "So you're going to want something in the future?"

Twig grinned sheepishly.

"Okay, you got me. Look, you two are making quite a name for yourselves. If you can dodge this bullet then everyone knows that you're going to be around for a while. All I ask is that you don't forget what I've done for you today. A favour from you two could be worth its weight in gold in the future, so I'm just getting to the front of the queue early."

"That's all you want?" Elle questioned sceptically.

"Hey, I might need you to rob Gringotts or some shit in the future, so don't think that you're getting off lightly."

"Yeah, keep it realistic Twig." Scorpius grimaced.

"Alright, alright," Twig stood up. "Right well I'm off. Out the back in case you two geniuses were followed. Again."

"Very funny Twig," Scorpius said. "Okay mate, look we really appreciate this. I know it was a big risk."

"Yeah thanks Twig." Elle added, kissing the man on the cheek before he disappeared up the stairs in a cloud of smoke.

"Alright," Scorpius turned to Elle. "We need a plan and quickly."


	7. Shades of Green, Shades of Gray

_"Let's have some fun"- Lucy Weasley_

* * *

"We're just going round in circles here." Elle complained.

The two of them were back in the Chamber, the files that Twig had given them laid out on a table in front of them. They'd been through them with a fine toothcomb, and Scorpius' first assessment of it in the cellar of the Hog's Head had been correct. Yes, there was a lot of evidence, but none that could go beyond a conspiracy charge. A relief too was the fact that no way could any of it be corroborated by witnesses. None of the people caught up in this would talk, they were certain of that. They didn't just deal with anyone. So, things weren't as bad as they had initially seemed. However, there was still a great level of uncertainty. Whose to say that the Auror's didn't have more, despite how unlikely it may be. And more importantly why were they still walking around Hogwarts as a free man and woman?

"Well, lets take a check," Scorpius began. "What do we think we know?"

"Okay," Elle replied. "We know that we've been watched. We know that we can't tell anyone, warn anyone involved, it would ruin our reputations. We know that it's the Auror's doing the watching, not your run of the mill law enforcement. If we go on the assumption that this is all they have, which is a big leap, then we also know that they haven't been able to follow us all the time. I mean, at least all the seriously dodgy stuff we did was done in properly secured locations. And we know that despite the fact we could be charged and thrown in Azkaban, we're sat here now. Not in prison."

"And that is the question we need to answer. Why are we not rotting in a cell?" Scorpious mused.

"Seriously, they better give us adjoining ones when they inevitably come for us." Elle attempted to joke.

"It won't come to that," Scorpius stated seriously. "We are not going to prison."

"No, we're not." Elle agreed.

"Okay, so tell me why we're not there now?" Scorpius asked.

"I can think of three explanations. I'm sure you've also thought of them so why don't you just tell me?"

"Fresh perspective." Scorpius replied.

"Right. First and most obvious explanation is that they are still gathering evidence and want to hammer us on bigger charges down the line. Secondly, the files all showed us with high end criminals. They might be following us in an attempt to get to them and they might attempt to turn us, which brings us nicely on to number three. Third option is that they are biding their time, waiting for a situation where they can use us and then they'll hold these charges over our heads until we do what they want. And then probably chuck us in Azkaban anyway."

"Good," Scorpius praised. "That's all I can think of as well, the third being the most likely."

Both of them grew silent, both searching their heads for a way out where they were pretty sure there wasn't one.

"Hang on…." Scorpius began, "Unless…"

He sprang up from his chair, began pacing the room, more animated than Elle had seen him for a long time. He had the same look in his eye that he had when he was figuring out a particularly difficult new spell or a new idea. Elle knew she jut had to be patient, let him work through it. An interruption now could kill his train of thought. After a couple of minutes, Scorpius turned to her, eyes alight with discovery.

"We're operating under the illusion that this isn't all bullshit. That we haven't been fed a line." he began.

"It's unlikely." Elle scoffed.

"Why," Scorpius asked. "Why is it so unlikely? All we've got is Twig's word on this. Papers can be faked. And his story didn't quite add up when looking back on it. As good a thief as he is, how did he manage to slip past his guards without a wand for the required amount of time? How did he copy the documents without said wand? And the biggest one, why was an Auror handling his case? A washed up small timer on an assault charge? No way would an Auror be involved in such petty crime. That's the job of the Law Enforcement."

Elle thought about what Scorpius was saying and realised he was right. It didn't add up at all.

"And," she began excitedly. "If it was genuine, why didn't he want anything more substantial for his trouble? A favour? This isn't the Sopranos. No. He could have named his price."

"Good point," Scorpius conceded. "But who has anything to gain by making us believe that the Ministry is after us?"

"I don't know." Elle sighed, the excitement of the previous discovery draining out of her.

"No, nor do I."

"We can't just work under this assumption though Scorp," Elle warned. "It's too risky to put all our eggs in one basket."

"Yes, of course. Okay, first things first we need to confirm that this isn't coming from the Ministry and the Auror Department."

"How the hell do we do that?" Elle questioned.

"First off, Twig. If I'm wrong and this is all genuine then he'll still be around town. I'll get a few of our more discrete contacts to find him. However…."

"If they can't, then he's done his disappearing act and we know something's wrong and that he's involved." Elle continued.

"Precisely. Secondly, we need a source inside the Auror department." Scorpius said.

Elle scoffed.

"Come on Scorp, Auror's are all ex-Gryffindor's. No way are they going to talk to us. And they're all extensively vetted by Ron Weasley so we can't get any leverage on any of them."

"You're right, but luckily I know just the place to start." Scorpius said, holding up today's Daily Prophet front page.

"Joanne Joyce?" Elle questioned, confused.

"Yes, Joanne Joyce," Scorpius grinned. "The ex Slytherin who today got off a murder charge."

* * *

They exited the Chamber around an hour later, a plan firmly in place. It relied on speed. They had to gather as much information as possible first before they put the initial stage into action and they were therefore rushing towards the Entrance Hall and the front gates. It was going to be a long night. However, they hadn't even reached the second floor corridor when they were stopped by a tiny voice shouting Malfoy's name.

"Mr Malfoy, Mr Malfoy sir!" a young boy in Slytherin robes approached.

"What is it?" Scorpius replied harshly, betraying his impatience.

"It's Mr Warrington and Miss Parkinson sir. They're duelling the Gryffindor's now on the third floor!"

"What's that got to do with me?" Scorpius asked.

"Mr Edwards sir. He told all us first years to find him or you if there was any trouble."

"Did he now?" Scorpius sneered. "I've not got time for this."

And with that he swept off down the corridor leaving Elle and the first year behind.

"Scorpius!" Eleonora called, rushing after him, shouting his name until he stopped and she caught up.

"Let's go." he asserted.

"No," Elle responded. "Remember what you said in the hut. You said you'd help him."

"Yes, but not now," he said firmly. "We have more important things to do in case you had forgotten."

"Look, I've got a feeling we're about to make even more enemies in the next few weeks. Let's not add Rufus and the whole of Slytherin to the list. At least not yet." Elle pleaded.

Scorpius closed his eyes and sighed. Inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly. Appeared to make up his mind.

"Fine. You," he shouted back to the first year still hovering. "Where are they?"

"Third floor near the Templar paintings sir."

"Thank you. What's your name?"

"Mustafa, sir."

"Okay Mustafa, you've done your house proud. Get back to the common room quickly, it's not safe to be wandering around the corridors alone these days."

"Thank you sir. Will do sir." the boy stammered before turning and disappearing round the corner, heading off towards the stairs and the dungeons.

"You loved him calling you 'sir' didn't you?" Elle mocked, as they started off towards the third floor quickly.

"Boy respects his elders. As he should."

"Should I start calling you sir then? Sir Scorpius of Twattery maybe?"

"Funny girl. Let's get moving."

A couple of shortcuts later, Scorpius and Elle arrived on the third floor and the corridor in question. As they turned the corner they were met with the sight of three figures dangling upside down in the air, the unmistakable green Slytherin robes touching the floor. Warrington, Parkinson and a fifth year neither of them could remember the name of. Vaguely recalled him as Parkinson's cousin. Or boyfriend. Who knew with those inbreeding pure bloods? As they drew closer, wands raised, pushing past the three hanging students who were moaning in pain, they came across the source of the problem. They looked straight into her eyes.

"I told you we'd see each other again soon." Scorpius smirked, wand pointed straight.

"The famous Scorpius Malfoy, rushing in to defend his housemates from little old me. I'm flattered." Lucy Weasley replied, her voice melodic, but at the same time steel. Elle looked into her eyes, searched around for some clue but the book was closed. She betrayed nothing, just exuded confidence from every pore of her body. Who was this girl?

"Speaking of, will you let them down now please." Scorpius asked, his tone slightly off to Elle's ears. Maybe nothing.

"And why would I do that, Malfoy?" Lucy questioned.

"Because I'm asking you to."

"And if I don't?"

"Then I'll make you."

"Is that a promise?" Lucy breathed. "You're such a tease Malfoy." she laughed.

Elle was surprised by the turn of conversation. She had never heard anyone talk to Scorpius like this. And something was off with the Malfoy boy as well. She had the feeling he was very much enjoying this exchange, confirmed as he flashed a smile at the brown haired girl in front of them. God was he flirting? Scorpius never flirts. She studied the girl in front of her. Supposed she was pretty. Nothing special though. Until you got to the eyes that is. Piercing grey, they were the right blend of enticing and mysterious. She would kill for eyes like that.

"Something to say Eleonora?" Lucy smirked, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah," she recovered. "If you don't want to spend the next month in St Mungos, you'll do as he says and let them down." she said icily.

Lucy just smiled at her before raising her wand and muttering under her breath. All three Slytherin's fell to the ground with a crunch, crying out in pain. However, Elle thought that this had little to do with her threats. Had the feeling that Lucy Weasley didn't do anything unless she wanted to. The three picked themselves off of the ground, all raging.

"She's a psycho Malfoy!" Warrington exploded. "I think she's broken my fucking arm!"

"Better get yourself to the hospital wing then Gale." Lucy laughed.

"You bitch!" Warrington yelled. Out the way Scorpius, let me hex her!"

"No," Scorpius. "Get out of here, all of you."

"But Malfoy…." Warrington whined.

"GO WARRINGTON!" Scorpius yelled. "Why is it you I'm always cleaning up after? Got an answer? No? Then do yourself a favour and fuck off. NOW!"

Scorpious, Elle and Lucy were swiftly left alone in the ever darkening corridor. There was an awkward silence, and to be honest Elle felt like a spare part. Scorpious and Lucy were currently engaged in a staring contest leaving her forgotten.

"What happened?" Scorpius asked Lucy, penetrating the silence.

"Oh, you know how it is. Got a bit pissed off with Parkinson so thought I'd, you know, relieve some stress as it were." Lucy replied, an inscrutable half smile on her face.

"And the other two?"

"Jumped in to help. So they helped." she smirked.

"You know we can't let you get away with this," Elle interrupted the two. "It's Slytherin code."

"Is that so? What do you think Scorpius, going to teach me a lesson?" Lucy flirted.

"I think I'll let Elle do it."

"Oh, so you like to watch?" Lucy grinned.

Scorpius turned a shade red, barely noticeably, but he did. Elle couldn't help but have a little laugh at the boys expense.

"We haven't got time for this. We need to go," he directed towards Elle, although he was still glancing at Lucy. "We need to see Adelaide before the days out."

"Adelaide?" Lucy questioned. "Should I be jealous Scorpius?"

"Probably," Elle answered when it became clear that Scorpius wasn't going to. "She's much fitter than you. And she's got the whole older woman and edgy vibe, as opposed to the creepy, 'I think I'm so mysterious' one that you've got going on."

Lucy just smiled at her again. Elle didn't know if she found the girl really annoying or quite amusing. Maybe she fancied her, she mused. No, she decided quickly. Preferred people a bit more straightforward. She had enough enigmatic figures in her life.

"Let's go Elle." Scorpius asserted and both of them turned their backs on Lucy Weasley.

"Not even a goodbye?" she called mockingly. "You two are breaking my heart."

Elle flicked her the Vs as they walked down the corridor. However, they only got a few feet when a group of people burst around the corner, wands out, the Gryffindor Lion on their robes and all looking up for fight. Scorpius and Elle drew their wands and backed up slowly, pointing their weapons at the group in front who they began to recognise as they moved into the window light. About fifteen Gryffindor's stood before them, stopping to a standstill when they realised who they were facing.

"Let's have some fun." Lucy whispered in Scorpius' ear from behind him, before letting out a wail and running towards the group that included at least two of her cousins from what Elle could see.

"Oh, thank God you're here." Lucy sobbed as she threw herself into Dominque Weasley's arms.

"What the fuck is she playing at?" Elle hissed to Scorpius who just shrugged.

"What happened Lucy?" Dominique soothed.

"They were hhhh hexing mmm me Dom," she continued to fake sob, flashing Scorpius and Elle a grin over Dominique's shoulder. "The Jago girl wanted to use Crucio on me."

"Sshh, it's okay Lucy. Dee, take her back to Ravenclaw tower."

And with a last hidden smirk towards Scorpius and Elle, Lucy disappeared around the corner, leaving them alone with fifteen very angry Gryffindor's.

* * *

Elle composed herself, and cleared her mind. They'd work out Lucy Weasley's motives later. Now, they had to try to talk themselves out of this one. Although there was no-one in the group on first glance that could even be considered a threat to her and Scorpius, they were still severely outnumbered. Also, they didn't want Rufus Edwards to be breathing down their necks again, so it was important to try to resolve this without it coming to a duel. Not that that seemed likely.

"Looks like we got here just in time." remarked Dom, clearly the ringleader of this gang.

"Remind which one are you again?" Elle taunted. "Oh wait, you're supposed to be the hot Weasley. Not sure what all the fuss is about to be honest. Mind you, I suppose in comparison….."

"Don't talk about my family!" Dom exploded.

"Calm down Weasley." Scorpius attempted.

"You had my cousin in tears Malfoy. Fucking Slytherins, never changing. My father.."

As Dom went on a rant about the evil of the Slytherin house, Elle took the opportunity to take a closer look at the group in front. Had to stop herself from groaning out loud when she saw a lost and frightened looking girl in amongst them.

"Scorpius," she hissed, the Gryffindor's too busy cheering Dom on to notice. "Middle left."

"Fuck," Scorpius whispered as he saw what she was talking about. "If anything kicks off, you get her out the way. I'll cover you."

"…..you're all still Death Eater scum!" Dom concluded, her little speech over.

"Are you finished?" Scorpius asked condescendingly. "Excellent, well we'll just be off then. Busy day and all that."

"You're going nowhere Malfoy." said Tommy Finnegan, who they just noticed was in the group.

"Dried off now Finnegan?" Elle couldn't help herself.

"Look, just put down your wands, let us on our way and we'll forget this ever happened." Scorpius suggested. Despite his suspicion of the boy, he did not want to rile Rufus Edwards up any more by fighting Weasley's again. Although it was looking increasingly likely that they'd have to as no Gryffindor lowered their wand. Played his last card.

"Does Albus know you're here little Potter?" he asked, eyes resting on the shaking red-haired girl in the middle of the group, who was the only one to not have her wand raised. Turned towards Finnegan. "I can't imagine he'd be happy with you Tommy, letting his baby sister get involved in stuff like this. Everyone knows she's not cut out for it."

Elle felt a wave of sympathy for the youngest Potter, who looked so completely out of her depth. She had never been known to get into scrapes like this, had always been fiercely protected by her brothers who had quickly realised that she wasn't built like them. Wasn't built for conflict. But here she was, trembling like a leaf, being faced down by two of the most capable duellers in the school and under pressure from an angry group of housemates who wanted blood to raise her wand. It was a strange sensation, sympathising with a Potter.

"Lily's fine," Hugo Weasley, Rose's brother, asserted. "Aren't you?".

The Potter girl nodded, still trembling.

"You sure look it." Scorpius directed at her sarcastically.

"What did you do to Lucy, Malfoy?" Dom asked trying to sound threatening.

"Nothing. What is wrong with that girl? She some kind of sociopath?" Scorpius asked pointedly.

"Stupefy!" came a shout from the group. Elle lazily deflected it with a flick of her wand, sending the stunner back the way it came causing the Gryffindor's to duck.

Scorpious began to laugh. Elle joined him. Bloody Gryffindor's. So emotional.

"You really want to do this?" he asked. "Don't embarrass yourselves."

"Fifteen on two, Malfoy. I fancy our chances." sneered Dom.

"Take it then." Elle invited.

For a moment it was a standstill. Scorpius and Elle wouldn't attack first and the Gryffindor's were still hesitant. But Elle twitched and suddenly spells were raining down on them.

"Go!" Scorpius yelled, conjuring a vast defensive shield covering the both of them, spells bouncing off it.

Elle waved her wand, pointing it at Lily Potter who then flew towards them, as if lassoed by an invisible rope. Elle caught her before she crashed into the wall. Grabbed her by the shoulders and looked at her.

"Look at me, look at me Lily," she yelled over the top of all the noise. The girl was frozen in shock. Slowly lifted her eyes up to Elle's. "It's going to be okay. You're going to be fine. You're going to stay behind me okay. Okay?"

The Potter girl nodded numbly and Elle turned her attention back to the fight, smirking at the sight in front of her. Scorpius had kept his huge shield charm up and was just standing in the middle of the corridor inspecting his nails for all the Gryffindor's to see as they attempted to break down his defences.

"Seriously, I could do this all day." Scorpius grinned at Eleonora, the thrill of a fight helping them both to forget the hardships of the previous few days.

"Do you remember when we were in fourth year and this used to be an everyday occurrence?" Elle sighed wistfully, ignoring the commotion around her. "Is it wrong to miss fighting everyday?"

"Probably," Scorpius laughed. "What do you say we make things more interesting?"

"I'd say bring it on Malfoy."

"Don't attack them though. Just block. I've got something I want to try out" Scorpius said.

"Okay."

"Here we go then." Scorpius grinned.

He pulled his wand up and the shield charm disappeared, leaving them more vulnerable. It truly was something to see, the two of them in full flow. Deflecting everything, wands moving at the speed of light, a look of joy upon their faces as they went about it. Fifteen Gryffindor's couldn't touch the two best friends and they knew it. Lily Potter watched in awe as the two twirled around each other, fighting as one and as individuals at the same time, not even breaking sweat.

"Anytime now Scorp," Elle shouted gleefully. "This is getting boring."

"Alright."

He closed his eyes and drew his wand back, uttering the spell in his head as he threw himself forward like a baseball pitcher. Reams of silver shot out of his wand, forming at least twenty ghost-like Hawks in the air. Another flick, and they charged at the attackers in front of them, a cloud of fog billowing all around. The fog quickly cleared to reveal fifteen unconscious Gryffindor's on the floor.

"Where have my Hawks gone?" Scorpius asked confused, looking around.

"Probably just chasing down a straggler."

"I told you the ladies would love it. How cool was that." he bounced like a child.

"I'll admit, I find you sexually repulsive but even I'm a little turned on right now."

"You see," he grinned. "Never doubt me."

"They're not dead, are they?" a small voice spoke up.

"No Potter, just unconscious. You think I'd kill fifteen people?"

Whilst Scorpius got angry at the Potter girl, Elle could hear a sort of swishing sound in the distance getting closer. Looked down the corridor just in time.

"DUCK." she yelled, forcing Lily Potter down with her as Scorpius' army of Hawks soared over them.

"WHY THE FUCK ARE THEY ATTACKING US MALFOY?" she shouted, attempting to fend them off with her wand.

"I DON'T KNOW! HOLD ON A SEC…"

He pointed his wand upwards, uttering incomprehensible spells before finally they all got sucked back into the tip with a crack, leaving the three lying on the floor, out of breath and submerged in fog.

"What the hell Malfoy?" Elle let out breathlessly.

"I've no idea Elle. It's like someone hijacked the spell, turned them around and shot them at us…."

From the distance came a shrill sound growing ever closer. As it got nearer it became obvious that it was someone whistling. Footsteps could be heard coming towards them. As the fog cleared, a figure emerged. Messy black hair, thick rimmed glasses, piercing green eyes, hands in pockets, taking in the scene around him. Whistling.

Albus Potter had finally arrived.


	8. Kings and Queens

_"Always look out for number one" - The Queen of Clubs_

* * *

"Although I think you're both pricks, some of the stuff you two come up with is borderline genius," Albus Potter began nonchalantly. "Multi Patronus? Impressive. Needs work though Malfoy. Took me two seconds to turn them around."

"It's a work in progress." Scorpius muttered, still on the floor.

In fact, all three of them were still sprawled on the cold stone floor. Elle however couldn't feel the freezing slabs on her body because she was still on top of Lily Potter, having forced her down and shielded her from her unknowing brothers attack previously. Was suddenly aware of the lithe body wriggling beneath her. Looked down at her and smirked at the blush that was adorning the younger Potter's face as they made brief eye contact. Interesting. The smirk quickly disappeared though when she looked up and realised that Albus had also realised who the person Elle was blocking from his view was. His face jumped between confusion, concern and anger within the space of a couple of seconds.

"Get off my sister now Eleonora." he spoke, his voice low and dangerous, pointing his wand at the girl.

"Hey, you're the one who just attacked her here Potter," Elle snapped. "First Finnegan tries to get her killed and now you. What is this, part of her training to become a good little Gryffindor?"

Whilst Elle had been speaking, she had slowly stood up, letting Lily free of her bind. The red head now proceeded to run straight at Albus and throw her arms round him, sobbing and apologising uncontrollably. Scorpius signalled to Elle that they should try to sneak off whilst Potter was comforting his sister, however, one warning glance from the shock of black hair in front of them and they knew they were going to have to offer some sort of explanation up before they could leave. After a couple of minutes Lily appeared to have calmed down and the two of them were now engaged in a whispered conversation, before finally turning back to the two Slytherin's.

"Well," Albus began. "As much as it pains me, I believe I ought to be thanking the pair of you for keeping my sister out of harms way today."

"This is new." Elle smirked.

"It won't become a habit Eleonora," Albus scowled. "But we're even now okay? I'll let what you did to my cousin at the lake the other week go, just because of Tommy and Dominique's idiocy today, but don't for a second think that this means we're friends."

"Don't be like that Potter," Scorpious mocked. "We could be great pals the three of us. Braid each others hair and talk about boys…."

"Shut up Malfoy. I'm really not in the mood right now."

"Troubled Potter? What is it, time of the month? Sexual frustration? Sexual confusion?"

"I said shut up Malfoy." Potter said again, his tone remarkably even.

"Or is it the fact that you can't control your house anymore?" Scorpius said, his tone changing from mocking to dead serious as he stared down the boy in front of him.

The tension in the air was palpable. Albus' face betrayed nothing, but Elle knew that on the inside he must be raging with the blonde in front of him. However, after a few moments he broke out in a grin.

"At least I'm not taking orders from Rufus Edwards. You're his new lap dog according to the rumour mill Malfoy."

"Doing a friend a favour Potter. Besides, as usual this mess is all one of your lots fault. Happened to bump into one of your charming cousins attacking our housemates. Her fault really."

"Which one? Ahh wait. Lucy," he answered his own question. "She's one alright."

"Girl's a nutter." Elle interjected.

"Yes isn't she," Albus frowned. "Wouldn't catch her running around after Edwards though. What is it? Do you fancy him Elle?" he chuckled.

"You don't get to call me Elle."

"So defensive. Hit the nail on the head have I? But in all seriousness I never pegged you two as followers. You fully fledged Unity believers now then?" Albus mocked. "Tell me, what actually goes on at those meetings? Do you hold hands and sing 'Kumbaya'?"

"Why the sudden interest Potter?" Scorpius smiled evilly. "Thinking of getting onboard yourself? Well I suppose you wouldn't be the first of your clan to do so….."

Albus froze in shock. Lily looked confused. Elle was stunned that Scorpius had gone there. Some things were no go areas, even for them. Scorpius advanced towards Albus and began circling around the boy who looked as pale as a ghost.

"What, you thought I didn't know?" Scorpius whispered. "Thought you'd kept it secret? Thought dear old Uncle Ronald had buried it? Tell me, how did it feel to lose him to our cause? How did it feel to know that deep down, he hated all of you and what you stood for from the very start?"

There was a long pause.

"I feel nothing," Albus finally replied. "He's dead to me."

Scorpius and Albus were nose to nose now . Elle decided she should intervene otherwise things could turn bad. Knew it would also be wise to get out of there before the unconscious Gryffindor's came round. Could already hear some stirrings around them.

"That's enough Scorpius. You too Potter. Don't forget who else is here." she said, reminding them all that Lily was still very much present and looking between the two enemies with a frightened and confused expression.

Both wizards were pulled out of their testosterone fuelled staring match and took a few steps away from each other, Albus turning round to check on his sister. Scorpius though appeared to be reluctant to leave things there, and couldn't help but get in another dig.

"You can't even keep you're sister safe and out of all this Potter. How far you've fallen."

Albus Potter paused before turning back to Scorpius, that perfected blank expression back on his face.

"One day Malfoy, it'll all come crashing down on you. All of it."

"What's that supposed to mean Potter?" Scorpius snarled.

But Albus just took off down the corridor, back the way he had came, his sister following behind. She however, span around just before she turned the corner and looked back at Elle.

"Thank you Elle," she said shyly, before seeming to panic and stutter. "Sorry, I meant Eleonora."

Elle smirked again at the girl in front of them. Lily was looking at her shoes, hiding her reddened cheeks behind her even redder fringe. When Elle didn't respond, she turned quickly to follow her brother.

"Hey Potter," Elle called mischievously.

Lily turned back sharply, finally making eye contact with the older witch in front of her. Elle grinned, looked her up and down with clearly admiring eyes.

"You can call me anything you want."

Scorpius groaned as Lily let out a squeak and rushed after her brother, disappearing round the corner.

* * *

"Fucking Potter!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"You shouldn't have gone there Scorpius."

"Where?" he grinned.

"You know where." Elle sighed.

"Just having some fun. Anyway, what was all that about with his sister?" Scorpius asked

"What do you mean?" Elle replied, smirking.

"All her mumblecore rom-com shit and your embarrassing come on lines. 'Call me anything you want?' Really? That's the best you got?"

"Just having a laugh Malfoy. Did you see her face?" Elle laughed. "Anyway she's a child. It would be some court case shit if I went anywhere near that."

"She's a fourth year. It wouldn't be that weird."

"Yes it would. Besides, I thought you were trying to talk me out of it." she said slyly.

"Yes, you're right. I'm just saying, we stay away from Potter's in that sense. However adorable we think they may be." he drawled sarcastically.

"Does that apply to Weasley's as well?" Elle questioned smirking.

"Yes of course."

"Even ones with brown hair, grey eyes and a penchant for hexing Parkinson?"

Scorpius turned a bit red, but recovered quickly.

"That maniac?"

"Seriously bro, you two were like seconds away from fucking up against that wall." Elle laughed.

"Hey at least she's my age."

"She's a year below."

"Fuck. Well, closer than you're little Lolita thing. And anyway I have no interest in Lucy Weasley. I admit she's entertaining but she's still a bit too…. a bit too… _Weasley_ for my taste."

"Of course. And in my case I prefer people to have something more about them you know? Lily's a sweet thing but she's a fucking doormat. Looks like she'd cry at just about anything. We should introduce her to Davo, give her a proper fright…"

"Alright. Speaking of women with a bit more about them, we still need to get to Knockturn and find Adelaide tonight. Fucking Edwards, Weasley and Potter getting in our way all the time."

"Let's go then." Elle asserted.

They got to the end of the corridor before Elle stopped Scorpious, pointed her wand back the way they had come, and unleashed a flood of freezing cold water onto the Gryffindor's still lying prone. Laughed as they swiftly exited to a chorus of spluttering and swearing.

"Classic." Scorpius chortled.

* * *

"You got a smoke?" Elle asked for the third time in the last hour.

"No," Scorpius replied shortly. "Concentrate."

"I'm so fucking bored right now Malfoy. We've been sat here for three hours. She's not going to be here."

The duo were waiting to catch a glimpse of Adelaide, Knockturn Alley's premier drug supplier. Normally they would have just sent a message through one of her street dealers who would return an hour later with a time and address, but after the events of the last few days they were being more cautious. Not only for their sake but also for Adelaide's. They didn't want to compromise her more than they already had, even if she didn't know she had been. So tonight this was a private meeting and no-one else was going to know about it. The downside to this was that Adelaide had no idea they were looking for her, so they had to find her themselves with no help. Tonight's adventures had led them from Knockturn Alley to a laboratory in South London. Well, specifically, an abandoned warehouse opposite, whose third floor window gave good views of the outside of the complex. Although not entirely sure, this was where Scorpius and Elle believed her base of operations was. However, as a sign of respect, they were not going to attempt a break in, just wait until the Queen of Clubs as she was also known, showed up. Which she inevitably would. Eventually. All well and good, but in Elle's eyes, this was too dull.

"You didn't even bring fucking snacks." she grumbled.

Scorpius laughed at the petulant girl, but continued staring down at the sight beneath him.

"What I don't get," Eleonora began, "Is the lack of defences around this place. Yes they have a few guards, but there's no wards, no anti-apparation defences, it's not un-plottable, I found it on Google Maps for God sake. This is the biggest drug operation in Britain and any fucker could walk in. Any Law Enforcement fucker."

"It's precisely for the reasons you just mentioned that Adelaide has stayed out of Azkaban." Scorpius replied.

"It all looks a bit amateur to me." Elle snorted, not believing her friend and quickly losing any flicker of respect for any Law Enforcement Officer of the last ten years. That's how long Adelaide had been around and eluded everyone be it the law or rival competitors. A remarkable feat considering the volatility of her line of work.

"That's the point," Scorpius explained. "Hiding in plain sight, blending with the environment around you. Even the most advanced wards and charms give off a trace, however miniscule. By rejecting magical defences, this place becomes invisible. Sometimes it's not about how advanced you are, its about how advanced _they_ are. Once you know what they can do, then you can defend against them. And if you're going against one of the most sophisticated Law Enforcement departments in the world, then the logical thing to do is become as unsophisticated as you can. They don't expect that."

"I see." Elle nodded.

"It's the problem of modern living," Scorpius continued thoughtfully. "The world is so reliant on these things. Muggles rely on their internet, their phones, their cars. Wizards rely on their magic. If you want to disappear, then you just stop using them. It's the simplest of things, but no-one seems to get it."

"Well, I'm ditching you straight away if we ever need to go on the run," Elle laughed. "It would be so boring. Snap our wands and go live in the woods with no internet? No thanks."

"If we ever need to make a getaway, I'm not taking you with me anyway. You'd just get in my way."

"Dickhead. You'd be lost without me. Imagine you trying to live like a normal Muggle?" She began to exaggeratedly impersonate Scorpius. "Umm excuse me, what is this thing called a job? It's how you get money you say old chap? Do you people not have fathers? I thought money was just handed down to you by your forebears. And why does this house only have two bedrooms? It's positively barbaric!"

Scorpius was laughing so hard that he almost missed the car pulling up outside of the laboratory. Sprang into action quickly. Jumped out the third floor window.

Elle rolled her eyes.

"Always so fucking dramatic." she sighed, before also making the leap of faith out into the darkness.

* * *

When Elle hit the ground after a deft cushioning charm, she straightened up to see Scorpius with is hands above his head, a host of muggle guns pointed at him. And now she had them on her. Great. Raised her hands.

"It's alright boys," sounded a thick East End accent. "They're old friends."

The guns were lowered and the Queen of Clubs herself stepped gracefully out the car. She looked more like an aristocratic pureblood than a drug dealer. Dressed immaculately, not a blonde hair out of place, understated but clearly expensive jewellery and a general air of superiority. Elle often found herself disconcerted when from out of this beautiful woman's mouth came such a thick and grating sound.

"What can I do for you tonight then? Cos no offence but I'm not in a giving mood right now if it's a favour you're after." Adelaide said, more aggressively then the two friends were used to. When she wanted to be she was one of the most fearsome individuals they knew, but it had rarely been a side shown to them. Knew something was wrong.

"What's in the folder Adelaide?" Scorpius questioned.

Elle was confused for a second, but it only took her a few seconds to notice what Malfoy was talking about. Clutched in Adelaide's left hand was a bound folder, one which looked very familiar. Well this changed things.

"None of your business Malfoy," she snarled. "Go back to school and stay away from the grown ups okay?"

"What's in the folder Adelaide?" Scorpius repeated, undeterred by the woman's menacing tone.

"Did you not hear me Malfoy?" she exploded. She gave one of her bodyguards the nod and suddenly a dozen guns were pointed at the two of them again.

"Let's go Scorpius." Elle urged.

"No. You won't shoot us Adelaide, so let's dispense with all the dramatics," Scorpius sneered. "Save us all some time."

"Today is not the day to be brave with me." Adelaide hissed.

"Well tough," Scorpius said, shrugging his shoulders. "Because today is the day that I need you. And judging by what I think is in your hand, you need me."

"I don't need anything from you Malfoy. I've tolerated you for this long, out of amusement more than anything. The poor latch keyed rich boy coming down to the streets to play. But enough now. Or I'll kill you. Don't think for a second think that I won't."

"Oh but I do. For someone who's evaded the law for ten years, I thought you would be a better liar." Scorpius replied, his tone not shifting an inch.

He was going to get them killed Elle thought. But then she made eye contact with the woman in front of them. And within her eyes was no threat, no malice, no hate. No, all there was, was pleading. And then it hit her.

"You're trying to protect us." Elle stated simply.

"What's in the folder Adelaide?" Scorpius repeated for the third time, but this time a lot more gently.

The Queen of Clubs seemed to deflate before their eyes. She sighed as she signalled for the guns to be lowered.

"You were always too smart for your own good. Both of you. Take a look for yourselves."

Adelaide gave the folder to one of her bodyguards who proceeded to hand it to Elle. She flipped through and was unsurprised too see a similar cache of documents that Twig had gave them just the other day, only this was more serious. Adelaide was truly fucked, judging by the evidence on display. And suddenly Elle felt a wave of guilt. Adelaide had been trying to protect them, trying to keep them out of this, out of trouble. But her and Scorpius? They had come here with the sole intention of using her to pull themselves out of the shit. Of course, they had considered her safety from the law, but not to the extent where they were unwilling to use her. To make their problems go away. They should have left her alone, should have left everyone alone. Do what Adelaide had tried to do. But they hadn't and Elle felt like they'd betrayed their friend. And that was the worst feeling in the world as far as she was concerned. And she'd been through more than most and she had felt things that no-one ever should.

"Do not feel bad Adelaide," Scorpius said after he'd finished looking. "We ourselves received a similar package recently. So we don't want your protection. Simply because it's of no use to us anymore."

He sounded so cold, Elle thought. So calculating. He had known the witch in front of them for the longest, yet Elle knew just by his tone that he wouldn't hesitate to drop her. She sometimes forgot that Scorpius just didn't do other friends.

"You two?" Adelaide questioned sceptically.

"Yes us. What's so surprising about that?" Scorpius countered.

"You're just kids." Adelaide said matter of factly. When Elle was about to respond angrily she continued. "It's fact Eleonora. You might a big deal in your little castle up in Scotland, but in the real world, you're only just starting out. No offence but you're just a bit small time for all this."

"And how do you know?" Scorpius questioned until realisation dawned. "Unless….. Yes of course."

"What?" Elle asked, confused.

"There are others. It's not just us is it Adelaide?"

"No. It's not just us."

"So, who else?"

"You know I can't tell you that." Adelaide stated. "But you're smart enough to take an educated guess. All I'll say is that at least five of my associates have been approached with similar results. And not just anyone. Serious players. Someone is trying to take us down. Or someone is playing a game that goes far beyond the justice system."

"You don't think it's the law then?" Elle asked, admiring the woman's intuition.

"I don't know," Adelaide answered honestly. "But it seems foolish to presume. Not when we're all still at large. Ron Weasley is not exactly known for his subtlety and patience."

"Precisely our thinking," Scorpius stated, his tone shifting back to it's crisp and business like manner. "So do we have a plan?"

There was a pause

"There is no we Scorpius. I'm going to run." Adelaide responded finally.

There was a longer pause

"And you think that's a solution?" Elle half shouted angrily. "You think you can just run away from this, from all of us?"

"Of course I can. And you should too. First rule. Always look out for number one."

Elle's guilt from earlier subsided. Honour amongst thieves? Bullshit. She shouldn't have expected anything else. There was no friendship in this game. Not really. There was just winners and losers. And cowards.

"You do what you have to do Adelaide," Scorpius said calmly. "But before you go, I need something."

"And why would I help you? Why would I help anyone right now? As you said earlier, it's all about saving time."

"You're going to help us," Elle said lightly, hiding her anger well. "You're going to help us because firstly, it will benefit you. Because we are going to find whoever is doing this and we are going to stop them. And secondly, because we all know that you care. You didn't want us involved. Wanted us as far away from this as possible. But now, we're up to our necks and we need your help."

Adelaide considered the two teenagers in front of her. Felt her resolve wavering and she knew that the Malfoy heir could sense it.

"All I need is for you to set up a meeting for me." Scorpius revealed.

"That's it?" she responded surprised. "A meeting with who?"

Scorpius hesitated for a moment before responding.

"The Wolf."

There was a pregnant pause before Adelaide let out a single humourless laugh.

"The Wolf. You want to see _The Wolf_. Oh god you're fucking serious aren't you."

"As a heart attack Adelaide, I assure you." Scorpius replied lightly.

"What makes you think I know where he is?" Adelaide responded. "Or even who he is?"

"Don't play games with us," Scorpius spoke firmly. "You know who he is, we know who he is. You know where to find him, we don't.

"I don't know where you're getting this information from but I don't…."

"No," Scorpius interrupted, raising his voice above Adelaide's false denials. "You know."

Adelaide looked at Scorpius and sighed, defeated.

"How did you find out?" she asked.

"It's not that much of a deduction, I'm stunned more people haven't worked out who he is yet," Elle cut in front of Scorpius. "As for you, well, he's got to get his potions from somewhere right? And your lycanthropy brews are the best on the market, better than St Mungos in fact . I do have a few minor improvements to suggest however, for a small fee of course…"

"Elle." Scorpius warned, amused.

"….but perhaps this isn't the time or place." Elle finished sheepishly.

"So, you'll set up the meet?" Scorpius asked.

"Of course not Malfoy," Adelaide sneered, regaining some confidence. "I won't ruin my reputation for you two. Total anonymity is what my customer get. Otherwise I'm just another two bit dealer trying to get by on scraps."

"But we already know you deal to him," Elle stated. "You're breaking no confidences here."

"Course I am Eleonora. If my names on this, then my reputations out the window. Rule number two, our names are our names and if they get dirty then they'll stay dirty. And besides, it's the fucking _Wolf_ you're asking me about. You've heard the rumours about him right?"

"Talk is cheap. On the other hand, have you heard the rumours about me Ads?" Scorpius asked in a low, menacing, almost mocking tone. Elle could feel the energy around them shift to something more dark, more dangerous. She knew Scorpius. She knew when he was angry. But even she didn't know where he was going to go with this. She looked at Scorpius as he stared down Adelaide and she almost didn't recognize the boy in front of her. He was letting it all out now.

"They say I'm the best wizard of my generation. They say that I'm as talented as Dumbledore. I say this not to boast. These are facts. They also say that I've got evil inside of me, that I'm my father, my grandfather, that I'm destined for the dark arts. These are not facts. But they are let's say…. possibilities."

It was then that the world got it's first indication of how dangerous Scorpius Malfoy could really be. Suddenly all of her bodyguards dropped around Adelaide, clutching their throats, gasping for any breath they could struggle for. Scorpius stepped towards one of the most wanted and feared criminals in the wizarding world with such menace, that Elle herself struggled to watch.

"They have one minute," Scorpius threatened. "One minute until they all die. And unlike you, I'm not one for empty threats or friendship. Always look out for number one Adelaide."

"You're bluffing." Adelaide whispered, but it was as unconvincing a statement as had ever appeared out of her throat.

"Scorpius… stop, please." Elle begged in a quiet voice.

"Once they're dead, then I'll kill you Adelaide," Scorpius ignored Elle. "You have the nerve to ask me why? Ask me why I want this? No, you don't get to know why. You don't decide to run and then observe from a distance as we do all the work for you. Twenty seconds. Now do we have an agreement?"

"Yes." Adelaide choked out.

"Good. Set it up. Send me an owl with the time and place. And don't even consider double crossing us Adelaide, because I'll know. And then I'll come for you."

And with that he lifted his spell and grabbed Elle's arm before the bodyguards could recover. Twirled on the spot. As they were disapparating, Scorpius looked straight into the eyes of the Queen of Clubs.

"Remember, I'm just a kid." he smirked, before disappearing into the night.

* * *

They landed in Hogsmeade. Elle immediately wrenched her arm out of Scorpius' grip.

"What the fuck was that Malfoy?" she spat as she staggered away from the blonde who looked so invigorated.

"That was us, growing up." Scorpius smiled.

And Elle didn't like that smile one bit. For the first time in her life, Scorpius Malfoy had scared her.


	9. Spliff

_"I don't fucking want it ok?" - Eleonora Jago_

* * *

Elle ran back to the castle through the night, ignoring Scorpius' calls. Tripped on a tree root and fell face first on to the hard, cold winters ground. Got up and carried on running. She needed a release, needed to forget. The pain in her left arm was a welcome distraction as she tore passed the gates, waving her wand to remain undetected. It was a lot easier to sneak out the grounds than most people thought. Her and Scorpius had never bothered with secret passageways and the like, preferring to rely on their considerable abilities to avoid being caught. She was close to the edge now, she could feel it. Could feel unwanted memories rushing back to her, memories of her father, of that place, of him. And she was angry. Angry that her best friend had made her feel like this, angry that he could act like he had.

It had always been there, she knew that. Had learnt to accept it. Accept the darkness that was within him, always struggling to break free but held down by the inherent goodness that she also knew was present. Of course she understood. Both of them had teetered on the edge before, getting so close, only to be pulled back by a combination of themselves and each other. But tonight, that look in his eye. She would never forget it. Couldn't. It was a look that told her that his hate had won out, even if just for a moment. Pure. He was capable, oh so capable of setting fire to the world, but that had never been the plan. That was not what they did. Sure they flirted with it, forever straddling the grey area between light and dark, but they had never fully embraced either side. Until tonight. Just a flick of his wand, that was all it had taken to reduce a dozen men to nothing. And she had just stood by, watching, doing nothing, frozen with horror and worse, curious fascination. How could one man hold so much power over others? Just a second. That's all it took. All it took for everything to change.

She looked around and realised to her surprise, she was back in the castle, standing in front of the Slytherin common room. Couldn't remember how she got there, couldn't remember pushing through the doors to the Entrance Hall, or descending the stairs to the dungeons. It was so dark she thought, so clammy down here. And she couldn't handle that right now. Muttered the password, ran up to her rarely used dorm, praying that her stash hadn't been discovered. Smiled as she felt under her bed and her hand brushed the box that was hidden. Dragged it out, careful not to wake the four sleeping girls. Grinned again as she opened it to reveal it's contents. Just what she needed. A glance at the clock told her that it was approaching midnight. She knew she should sleep, clear her head, but she had never been one for sleeping. Had never liked being so vulnerable. She needed to feel the wind on her, needed to look at something, needed some unnatural distractions. And she knew just the place.

* * *

Lily Potter crept quietly up the Astronomy Tower steps, hidden under her invisibility cloak. It had been a gift from Teddy Lupin, who had himself been bequeathed it by her father. And Teddy had given it to her. She had to keep it quiet, her brothers would never have allowed it. But Teddy knew. Teddy had always known. Knew that she needed something to call her own, a way to disappear from her family. She was old enough to understand herself, understand her limitations, her flaws, her inherent weakness. She knew she wasn't brave like James, wasn't brilliant like Albus, wasn't beautiful like Dominique, wasn't clever like Rose, wasn't fiery like Hugo, wasn't, well whatever the fuck Lucy was she certainly wasn't. She was just Lily, and that should be enough, surely. But it wasn't. Not for them. They treated her with love of course, but also with pity, exasperation, frustration. Because she wasn't really anything. And they looked at her like it was her fault. But the truth was, she had never been allowed to just be her. They were always pushing her to be like them, be like their parents.

She sighed as she reached the top and made her way over to the cupboard. Threw the cloak off, pulled out the telescope and waved her wand to assemble it. This was what she did at night, her own slice of paradise, a time where she could look at the stars and just be herself for a while. Before the dawn came and she had to go back. Tonight however, she was struggling to get lost in the sky. It had been an eventful day no doubt about it. Dominique and Finnegan had dragged her along when they had heard about some ruckus involving the Slytherin's. She had protested, said her brother wouldn't approve, but they dragged her anyway. When they had got there to find Lucy in tears, she knew that something would kick off. Also knew that Lucy was bullshitting. It appeared to be only her and Albus who could see through Lucy's mostly harmless lies, but whereas he would have spoken up, she just stood there, frozen. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. Dom, Tommy and even fucking Hugo had been so confident about the situation. Why, she had no idea. Albus ruled Gryffindor, there was no doubt about it, but they were all defying him as they faced down the two most enigmatic figures in the school. She thought that even her brother was afraid of them. She had never met either really, had been firmly protected from the duo, who many said would turn out bad. Dark. But she hadn't seen it. Had seen joy and life, so much life in the purple haired girls eyes as she twirled around, slashing her wand with a smile on her face. And even the Malfoy boy had seemed the same. She had envied his easy banter with Eleonora whereas she struggled to even get out a coherent sentence in front of the two. She had to admit she had been afraid, but there was something else behind the fear. And she couldn't place it. Suddenly she heard a noise on the stairs. Ran to try to retrieve her cloak, but stumbled and fell. Too late. She was caught. Heard a laugh as the footsteps stopped. Rolled over onto her back to face her fate.

"There's such a thing as too keen Potter." Eleonora smirked.

* * *

She couldn't help herself looking at the petite redhead in front of her, lying on her back with a startled expression. She looked better than earlier, more tempting than ever, with her skirt bunched up slightly and her top sliding off to reveal a single bare shoulder. Who knew shoulders could be so sexy on a girl? Although she had been having a laugh earlier, she had to admit Lily Potter was attractive. Before she got too carried away she let out a laugh and walked over to the other side of the tower, transfiguring the telescope into a sofa and settling down in it.

"I was using that." came a quite but angry voice.

"Grown some backbone little Potter?" Elle responded. "About fucking time mate. Now do me a favour and fuck off for a bit. I've got some stuff to do."

"Stuff?" the redhead questioned. "What kind of stuff does someone do in the middle of the night on the top of the astronomy tower?"

"Seriously? Aren't you supposed to be like, scared of everything and basically mute?"

"Yeah."

"Well fucking act like it and fuck off."

"No, I was here first." Lily said firmly, not only shocking Elle, but also impressing her a bit as well.

"Are you surprising yourself as much as you're surprising me Potter?"

"Yeah."

Elle turned to look at the girl and both let out a small laugh as their eyes met, only to be followed by an awkward silence. Lily didn't know where this sudden bravery was coming from, but it felt natural around this girl.

Elle turned back towards the view overlooking the Scottish highlands, feeling around in her pocket.

"FUCK," she yelled. "Can something just go right today?"

"What is it?" Lily asked , alarmed by the change in the girl.

"No papers," she replied, confusing Lily. "Don't suppose you've got skins?"

"Skins?" Lily questioned, even more confused.

Elle let out a resigned laugh. "Skins. Rizlas. Papers…. Forget it."

Lily silently cursed herself, embarrassed at seeming so naive in front of Eleonora. However, Elle didn't appear to be dwelling on it as she checked her pocket again and let out a triumphant cheer as she produced a tattered pack of cigarette papers.

"Yes! It's all going to be ok." she smiled. "Well if you're not fucking off Potter, you might as well come sit down. It's getting a bit creepy, you loitering behind me."

"Okay." Lily said nervously, edging around and perching on the transfigured sofa as far away from Eleonora as possible. She was barely sitting on it and Elle laughed again.

"Relax Potter. I won't bite. Unless you want me to that is…"

Lily blushed a deep crimson causing Elle to laugh yet again, only this time longer and louder.

"You are cheering me right up Potter, you know that?" she said between hiccups.

Lily couldn't help but feel a little pleased at the comment, despite the fact she knew Elle was laughing at her rather than with her. She observed as Elle pulled out a small pouch of what she presumed was tobacco, and then a cellophane bag filled with something that she was unfamiliar with.

"What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"I, little Potter, am making a fucking fat spliff."

Lily had no idea what she was on about, but didn't want to embarrass herself again so she just said "cool." and lapsed back into silence.

Elle snorted.

"It's weed little Potter. You know, cannabis. The herb, blow, whatever the kids call it these days."

"Isn't that illegal?" Lily questioned, inwardly cringing immediately after she said it.

Elle laughed yet again. It was a nice sound Lily thought.

"I live on the edge." Elle smirked sarcastically.

"Isn't it a muggle thing?" Lily asked.

"I'm muggle born."

"I didn't know that."

"Really? It caused quite a stir back in the day. Before your time though I suppose." Elle mused.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you lived under a rock your whole life Potter?" Eleonora mocked. "Muggle born Slytherin's are almost unheard of, even now. Now stop asking questions."

Elle finished rolling her joint, brought the lighter up to the tip. Inhale deeply. Sit back. Exhale slowly. There was something about the slow release of the muggle drug that she found hard to beat. Sure, she had experimented with magical drugs, in her line of work it was a prerequisite. She had even come up with a few herself. But the descended calmness that made itself known after the first spliff was impossible to beat in her opinion. It didn't make everything go away for a while, like the cheap highs of other drugs did, no it was a realistic release. After her musing on her love of weed, she went back to staring out into the darkness, thinking about the evenings events. Maybe she should have seen it coming. Scorpius had often told her to stop blaming herself for things in the past, but here she couldn't help but do just that. He was her best friend. Her soul mate. The only real family she'd ever known. She should have seen it. Should have done something. Made it stop. Because that's what they were supposed to do. Till death and all that shit.

Maybe she did see it. As she sat there calmly puffing away, she began to recall things, little things that should have served warning. All starting with his trip to find the stone just a couple of months ago. He'd gone alone. At the time his reasoning had appeared sound, but it now took on a more sinister edge. Why didn't he take her with him? They always did everything together. Sometimes she thought their co-dependency was verging on unhealthy. The worst thing was that the realisation that she was perhaps more dependent on him than he was on her scared her even more than his performance tonight. Talk about insecure, she thought. Parking that horrific idea to one side, she continued to muse on other out of character moments. His flare up with Albus earlier, though by no means uncommon for the two, was a much more serious affair than usual. Normally even Scorpius wouldn't dare to bring up what he had. And Scorpius had been angry enough to let his rage show. His flip flopping at the lake over Rufus Edwards and Rose Weasley was also a point of interest. Though moments previously he had been telling her to cosy up to the Unity group, he had let her antagonize all sides by throwing Finnegan in the lake and openly threatening Weasley. His flirtation with Lucy Weasley? It was all just a bit erratic for someone who had always been in control.

"Can I try?" Lily's voice awoke her from her troubling thoughts.

"Try what?" Elle replied distractedly.

"That. Weed."

Elle turned to look at the girl next to her who had just surprised her for the third time in the space of ten minutes. It wasn't easy to do that. Saw a girl there, but also a woman peaking through. A blazing look of determination written across her face as she held eye contact. In that moment Elle realised that Lily Potter had the potential to be extraordinary in her own way. But not now. Not today.

"No Potter." she said rather harshly for some reason.

"Why not?" Lily questioned.

"Because it's not you."

"You don't know me." Lily challenged.

"Exactly," Elle sighed. "You shouldn't try to change someone before you even know them."

There was another long silence, though this one more pregnant than before. Elle continued to smoke her way through her spliff, more for something to do than anything else. After what felt like a week, Lily broke the silence again.

"What was Scorpius Malfoy talking about today? With my brother? That whole thing about not being the first of my family…"

"I've no idea Lily," Elle lied quickly and firmly. They were on dangerous ground. "I don't want to know, and neither should you. Probably just Malfoy talking shit again."

"Ok then," Lily sighed letting the matter drop despite her curiosity being enflamed. "Why did you do it today?".

"Do what?"

"Pull me out the fight, protect me."

Elle let out a long stream of smoke. This was what it was about then. Knew she needed to set the girl straight. Couldn't lie to her again, it just didn't sit right.

"It was nothing to do with you Potter, no offence," she began. "Look, me and Scorpius hate your brother, but we also know that he's good, maybe even the best behind Scorpius obviously. Hexing his little sister who he works so hard to keep out of trouble would be tantamount to declaring outright war. And whilst that may be a smile, it's also a hassle that we are not interested in dealing with. Not right now anyway."

"So it was just about my brother?" Lily stated angrily. "Why is it always about them, never me?"

"It's just the way it is little Potter. Maybe someday you'll be grateful of it. I've been forever painted the sidekick. Overlooked. But look at me." she grinned and held her arms wide. "Happy."

"So happy you're on the top of the astronomy tower at one in the morning smoking drugs and talking to a Gryffindor." Lily said slyly.

Elle frowned. "Bold. Is it all an act then Potter, the shy, trembling one? Cos you're being awfully brave and sarcastic tonight."

Elle could see Lily falter a bit under her gaze but was impressed when she stood firm.

"It's not an act, it's just different up here. With you and no-one else cos you're like me. Bit of an outcast. Me, I just don't fit in with anyone here you know? And my family…. it gets to me like I can't breathe sometimes…." Lily was cut off by a snort from Eleonora. "What?" she asked confused.

"You Potter. Unbelievable. You think it's hard for you?" Elle glared angrily. "Try telling Joanne Joyce how hard it is for the daughter of the Chosen One. Try telling the Nott's, the Zabini's, the Parkinson's of this world. Try telling me. You want to have a moan about how hard you've got it? You've no fucking clue Potter, no clue at all."

"Give me a clue then." Lily replied, chastened but my no means defeated. "Make me understand."

"How could you?" Elle scoffed. "Gryffindor. Daughter of war heroes. Pretty. You can be anything that you want to be in this world Potter. Even if you can't, you could. Whereas me, Joanne and the rest of us? There's no room. You lot just leave us the scraps."

Elle flicked her almost burnt out spliff over the ramparts and stood up. Made her way towards the stairs but was stopped in her tracks by Lily's voice.

"You could as well you know." she said quietly.

"Could what?" Elle asked, her back still facing the youngest Potter.

"Be anything you want," she replied simply. "I don't buy that bullshit. Everyone knows what you can do with magic. You're a genius."

"No. Malfoy is a genius. Your brother too perhaps. But not me."

"More bullshit. Albus told me you were brilliant. Said you're the most naturally gifted Witch he's ever seen. Better than our mum, Rose's mum, all of them."

Elle turned to face Lily who was looking straight back. She suddenly felt so tired of it. Tired of Malfoy's, of Potter's, of Weasley's, of Slytherin's, of Gryffindor's, of Unity, of the whole lot of them. She never asked for this. Never asked to be taken away from her own fucked up world and placed into this equally as messed up one. London group home or boarding school in Scotland? What's the fucking difference.

"Albus said that did he?" she finally responded. "Maybe he's right, maybe he's not. But I don't want it. I don't fucking want it ok?"

"What do you want then?" Lily asked.

And you know what? Eleonora almost told her. Because no-one had ever really asked her that before No-one had cared enough. But she didn't tell her. Of course she didn't. She just turned back to the stairs and threw the young Potter her best smile over her shoulder.

"It's just pent up aggression. I need to get laid." she winked seductively and carried on down the stairs, her smile slipping as soon as she was out of view.

* * *

She closed the portrait hole gently, sighing and leaning back against it. She was tired. Made her way to the stairs.

"You don't know what it's like Elle."

Elle was startled by the voice of Scorpius. Pointed her wand at the fire to illuminate the room and saw him slumped in the corner of the common room. Eyes red. Moved slowly over to him as he continued.

"No-one knows what it's like in here," he continued, tapping his head with his finger slightly aggressively. "The fucking ….. noise of it. Not even you can get it."

There was a long pause as they just stayed still, occasionally looking at each other, but more often avoiding such intimate interactions.

"Say something, please," Scorpius begged, invading the silence.

Elle looked at him. Felt anger, pity, resentment, disappointment, love, hate, whatever.

"Do you know what you did today Scorpius?" she asked. "You fucking terrified me. Me. And you almost killed a dozen people. Real people Scorpius with real flesh and minds. Real people with people who care about them, people who love them."

"I know," Scorpius replied. "Something happened Elle. It was like I was me but I wasn't and…."

"No." Elle stated firmly "Just no Scorpius."

"What?" he choked, confused.

"Did you not hear me earlier? You did this. Your body, your mind, your magic. No excuses."

Elle looked down at Scorpius again. She had never seen him look such a mess. Even Warrington could probably take him down now she thought wryly. And whilst it broke her heart a bit, she couldn't let him shy away from this. He'd done something terrible.

"You did this," she repeated. "So fucking own it."

And with that she disappeared upstairs, not letting the tears fall until she was safely under the duvet.


	10. Teeth Dreams

_"Always get there early" - Scorpius Malfoy_

* * *

They weren't talking about it. Elle had been surprised when the next morning Scorpius had squeezed her shoulder and sat down next to her at breakfast as if nothing had happened. Asking her to pass him the butter for fuck sake. A fitful couple of hours sleep had done nothing to help her think through what had went on the previous evening. She had no idea how to deal with it. So, she didn't. Deal with it that is. She passed him the butter and started on a rant about the prospect of double Transfiguration, soon having Malfoy laughing into his mug of tea with her expletive filled descriptions of Professor Jones and her unfortunate habit of spitting all over the front two rows as she lectured. Deep down she knew they should talk about this. About him. But maybe just being there with him, laughing with him, acting normal with him could be enough? The crumpled mess she saw in the dungeons last night told her that he regretted it, that he had scared himself as well as her. No, there was no need to dredge it up again. She'd keep an eye on him, but no drastic intervention shit was needed. They would move on and everything would be back to normal soon.

Yeah, she knew she was lying to herself.

But she pushed it back. Took the easy option and they went about their business. Weeks passed. And it wasn't the same. There was a barrier between them that had never been there before, an underlying tension, and the ever looming threat of expulsion or incarceration didn't help matters. Sure to everyone else it seemed as if they were the same as ever, they even fooled themselves at times, but Elle knew that something had been broken that night. Whether they would fix it or not she didn't know. Until then, they laughed and joked, they bickered and strained. Because neither of them knew any other way to be.

The castle was growing restless as they drew closer towards the Christmas period. The world outside was rumbling with rumours surrounding the future of the Minister of Magic. He had not been seen in public since the early summer, and was widely believed to be seriously ill. An announcement of either his abdication or passing away was expected within weeks, and there were two names being touted as possible replacements, Felicity Bones and Ronald Weasley. Bones could boast a rich heritage of political influence and was undoubtedly an outstanding candidate. If not well liked, then certainly respected by both the public and her peers, she had carved a name for herself in the diplomatic office at the Ministry, rising to the department head position in record time. However, despite her excellent credentials, she wasn't a war hero like Ron Weasley. Add to that the accusations of her being too left of the centre ground and several high profile spats with both the Auror Office and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement over their, shall we say, enthusiastic approach, she was very much the outsider.

Ronald Weasley had been head of the Auror department ever since Harry Potter's sudden disappearance from public twenty six years ago. He had continued the work of his predecessor, hunting down former Death Eaters and shutting down any offshoot Dark Art cells that cropped up in the aftermath of the Second Wizarding War. He had had huge success initially and was hailed by many. However, he had also had a tough war and he'd grown more and more right wing as time went on. A messy divorce from the woman who could hold him in check hadn't helped matters. Today, his Auror department was shot through with prejudice and discrimination against his former enemies house. Accusations of falsified evidence, mistreatment of prisoners and whole scale corruption were whispered amongst certain sections of the Wizarding community, or shouted for all to hear by the Unity group. Despite this, he retained massive support amongst the mainstream who refused to listen and in all honesty it was his race to lose. The only hope for Unity or any with similar beliefs was that he would decide not to run it. Seemed unlikely.

In the light of this, the Unity group had stepped up their operations. A flash rally at Diagon Alley here, a big recruitment drive there, the name was beginning to ring out again. Tension within the Wizarding world was at a height not seen in years, and that tension had found it's way in through the cracks and crevices of the Hogwarts castle. Free from the restraints of Rufus Edwards' misguided non aggression tactics, Slytherin house had began to regain some much needed credibility. Although open duelling in the corridors was limited, the increased hostility could be felt by all. The professors were on high alert and prefects had been told to increase patrols. Scorpius and Elle kept true to their word to Rufus Edwards and attempted to maintain the fragile peace where they could, helped by the man himself. However, Rufus too was growing restless, more unpredictable. One day he would break up a fight and the next he would goad a Gryffindor into one. Although Eleonora had dismissed him as a slimy prick before, an opinion she still held, his behaviour over the weeks had begun to intrigue her more. He was a fascinating figure, an idealist, a militant, a peacekeeper, a leader. So many sides. She never knew which mask he would put on day to day and that appealed to her. Normally her and Scorpius could read young men like a book, but not this one. Still couldn't stand him though.

* * *

"I swear to god, if I catch Finnegan hexing first years again I'm gonna avada the dickhead." Elle snarled as she stomped into the Chamber, finding Scorpius looking over her Polyjuice upgrade potion.

"Well you would be doing the world a favour," Scorpius replied distractedly. "How's this going anyway? Progress appears to have stalled unless I'm missing something."

"Course you're not missing anything," Elle sighed wearily as she slumped onto the sofa. "I'm fucking stuck aren't I?"

Scorpius continued to look over the potion whilst Elle watched him carefully. Didn't know whether to tell him her only solution. Didn't know how he'd react, not since the incident. He'd been back to the him of previous years in the last few weeks, unruffled, in control, at least on the outside. On this issue, they could both become angry.

"I think you'll have to give it up then Elle," Scorpius said after a while. "You could try mandrake root but that would probably…."

"Counteract the effect of the knotgrass, I know," Elle finished for him. "There's only one way…."

"Really? I can't see it myself." Scorpius looked at her confused.

"Genetics." she said quietly.

"Genetics?" Scorpius questioned. "What does genetics have to do with…"

Elle watched as what she had said registered in his mind. Watched as he worked through the possibilities. Watched as he came to the right conclusion. Saw something behind his eyes just for a second that she didn't recognize. It looked remarkably like panic, but it was soon replaced by anger. Just a trick of the light maybe. This is what she had expected.

"No!" he seethed. "Absolutely not."

"I know, I know," Elle sighed. "But there's no other way. You know that."

"Then fucking ditch it Eleonora." he countered, the use of her full name not going unnoticed.

"I can't. This is my project. It's the best work I've ever done. I can't just let it lie now."

Scorpius looked at her and was quiet for a moment. Elle thought she knew what was going through his head. Flashes of her memories that he had been witness to in all their hours of occlumency training. They had never spoke of it before, not really and she had been grateful for his tactfulness. But circumstances had brought the issue to the foreground now and they could ignore the elephant no longer.

"It's still no Elle," Scorpius said after a while. "I can't let you do this."

"It's not your decision Scorpius," Elle replied testily. "If I want to see my father I will, nothing you can do about it."

There was another pause.

"How can you want to see him?" Scorpius asked quietly.

"Of course I don't want to." she sighed. "But I have to finish this. The potion needs genetic material from a relation. And he's the only one left of my family. Everyone else has gone, at least from what I know."

"Fine, but even if it works, and it's a big fucking if Elle, how is it really going to help? The thing about genetics and DNA shit is that they're all, like, different in everybody." Scorpius mocked patronisingly.

"Yeah I know Malfoy," Elle sneered. "And you know as well as I do that if I can get it to work for me then the chances of being able to replicate it and syndicate it increase ten fold. Don't take me for a fucking idiot. I'm as good as this kind of stuff as you are."

"Well I'll do it then," Scorpius replied. "Just use me and my dad's. No need for you to be anywhere near this or him."

Elle had thought about it. But her stubborn streak wouldn't let go. This was hers, all hers and no-one else's. She needed to see it through.

"It has to be me. It just has to be." she said.

Silence fell upon them again. Scorpius twirled around and walked over to the glass cell on the other side of the room, watching as the inferius raged. It probably mirrored his own emotions Elle thought. She shouldn't have told him.

"Ok." she heard him say.

"You what?" she said, standing up as he brought her out of her thoughts.

Ok," he said again simply. "We can do this, but I have conditions."

"Conditions? Scorp, I'm not being funny but this is my decision, nothing to do with you."

Scorpius stormed over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders forcibly, looking her dead in the eye.

"How can you say that?" he questioned angrily. "This has everything to do with me. You knew what I would see when you asked for me to teach you. You fucking knew. So don't come at me like that. The moment you asked me to teach you to close your mind you put it on me as well."

Elle pushed him away and sat back down on the sofa. Took a joint out of her cigarette tin and lit it, closing her eyes. Took a drag and then held it out, her eyes closed. Felt as it was taken from her and heard Scorpius take a long toke before expelling the smoke, banishing it to the air. Opened her eyes to see him looking back at her.

"Conditions?" she said, this time in a tone of reluctant acceptance.

"Thank you," he responded. "One condition really. Actually two. Firstly, get better weed. That stuff's weak as fuck. Secondly, you don't see him. I get what you need, myself alone. I don't want you anywhere near this."

"I'm not a child Scorpius," Elle glared, ignoring his first point. "I can handle this. I can handle him."

"Can you Elle? Really? Cos I don't think I could if I was you."

"Well maybe I'm stronger than you." she taunted.

"Fuck you Elle." Scorpius cursed angrily.

Elle could feel the rage bubble up inside of her as her and Scorpius glared at each other.

"No, fuck you," she responded. "Yeah, maybe I put my shit on you, but it's no different from the other night. I was standing there, by your side as you tortured those men. That's on me as well. So fuck you Scorpius, you self righteous cunt."

She saw his arm twitch in a movement towards the pocket where his wand was stowed before he pulled it back. Never had either of them turned their wands on each other before.

"Really?" Elle said in shock. "Did you really just consider that you prick? What the hell is wrong with you? What the hell is wrong with us?"

"Nothing," Scorpius replied, his voice expressionless, his eyes cold. "Nothing's wrong."

"Bullshit!" Elle exclaimed, but she could feel herself deflate. She just couldn't be bothered. Couldn't be bothered to handle this right now. Deal with him. If she was honest with herself then she would admit that she was afraid of what this inevitable, and it was inevitable, confrontation would throw up. Accusations on both sides, half forgotten truths, secrets and lies. They were pulling away from each other, she knew that, but she wasn't ready for it.

"Fine then," Elle snarled after a while. "You do it. Get what I need by the end of the next cycle or I go myself."

"With pleasure," Scorpius drawled sarcastically as he began to storm out the room. "And clear your schedule for Saturday."

"Why?"

"Adelaide got back to us. We've got a meet with The Wolf." he threw over his shoulder.

"Better get yourself some anger management classes then judging by last time," Elle shouted at his retreating figure. "Don't want you going all granddaddy Malfoy on us again."

Scorpius raised his middle finger over his shoulder as he exited the chamber and Elle wheeled away, upturning a table in rage and frustration, not missing the irony_._

* * *

_She was falling. Falling and falling for what felt like an age. Just falling. A flash of red hair, of mysterious grey, of passionate blue and unconvincing green. Another flash of red. She was late for something, but she didn't know what. Still falling. Cold steel juxtaposed with warm laughter, a shadow of a figure that was just out of reach. Clutching throats, missing teeth, red. Answers so close she could taste. A cold room, shivering, alone melted into a packed one with threatening whispers, cigarette smoke and the foreboding sense of danger. Wolves, lions and snakes. Forever falling. Until she wasn't. Now she was in front of a mirror, her reflection clear as winter's daylight, harsh and bright. A woman's voice, slurred and off kilter, the pitch all wrong, the words jumbled, but beautiful all the same. A face behind her in the reflection, crowned in dirty blonde hair, gaunt and defeated, alone. The face so familiar but yet such a stranger, she couldn't turn around because she knew there was nothing there. It was just a trick. A horrible, painful trick. Anger. Glass smashed and falling again. And then ….. nothing. Calm. A white beach and crystal blue water, wand in pieces on the sand. Bliss. A flash of red. A flash of green. The world spinning on it's axis. Faster and faster. Falling. Always falling._

_"Elle…. Elle." she heard vaguely through the fog._

"ELLE!"

She woke with a start, bolt upright, reaching for her wand before strong arms were holding her.

"It's me," Scorpius soothed. "Just me."

The sense of panic abated, to be replaced by clearer thought. She was awake now, with Scorpius still holding on to her.

"Stop fucking groping me Malfoy you perv." she spat, throwing him off her, much to the blonde's amusement.

"You know how many girls would kill to be in that position with me?" Scorpius smirked.

Elle ignored his arrogance and looked around bleary eyed. She was in the Chamber, had obviously slept there again last night.

"You shouldn't sleep down here Elle," Scorpius said his tone changing to his serious one. "It's not healthy. Are you really that afraid of your dorm that you'd rather sleep in a hidden dungeon where Voldemort was almost resurrected and the most dangerous creature in history used to live?"

"You obviously haven't seen 'Mean Girls'." Elle grumbled as she got up, stretching. "I'd take a Basilisk over teenage girls any day."

"You're a teenage girl." Scorpius stated, eyes twinkling.

"Yeah, but I'm different aren't I? And I have way more swag." Elle laughed striking a ridiculous pose, tiredness and dreams forgotten.

"Straight outta Compton you." Scorpius laughed.

Elle began to laugh before she suddenly remembered their fight last night and their current problems and the laughter died in her throat. Looked at Scorpius and saw him go through the same thought process as he looked away from her and cleared his throat.

"Anyway, get dressed," he said. "It's time to meet The Wolf.

* * *

In reality, it wasn't actually time. Elle realised quickly when they walked through the castle and grounds to the gates that Scorpius had woken her up ridiculously early, something that she was still giving him shit for hours later.

"Two o'clock," Elle began, talking to him in the earpiece that he had provided her and looking at him from across the square. "P.M. 1400 hours. That's when this was set for right? So why the fuck have I been sat in the middle of Leicester Square in the middle of December since seven in the bloody morning?"

"Always get there early," Scorpius replied. "You know the drill."

Elle huffed and sat back on the bench she was located on, watching the muggle world go by. She was impressed with The Wolf's choice of meeting place, mind you he had a reputation for being smarter than the average knucklehead they dealt with. In the heart of muggle London, Leicester Square was teeming with people going about their day, tourists and professionals, although Elle was naturally drawn towards observing the scammers and scrappers who frequented the area. She had already witnessed a crew work the three card monte scam on the tourists milling around, three successful and one unsuccessful pickpockets by a girl who could only be thirteen and, most amusingly, a fight between two fat Americans that ended when both just ran out of breath. The meeting place was a smart choice because it was in muggle London, an area which most wizards were unbelievably ignorant about, and it was a crowded place where it was easy to slip away unnoticed.

"Spare any change love?" a ragged looking man interrupted her thoughts with a plastic cup held out filled with shrapnel change. Elle waved him off and he staggered away, off towards whatever an unfair God would throw at him next.

Truth be told she was on edge. The Wolf had a dangerous reputation in certain circles and the whole thing just wasn't sitting right with her. They knew that he'd have likely rumbled their scheme immediately. Adelaide was supposed to have pretended this meet was with her on the pretext of selling him more potions before Scorpius and Elle surprised him. But the chances of both Adelaide holding firm and him not working it out were slim. If he had worked it out, then they could be walking into a trap. The hope was that he had heard enough about them on the grapevine to be curious enough to turn up. Maybe even see it as a recruitment opportunity. Without being arrogant, both Elle and Scorpius knew that they would be huge assets to a group like Unity. But she still didn't like it. Unbeknownst to Scorpius, she had stationed a couple of old associates around the area to keep an eye out.

Speaking of Malfoy, she glanced over to where he had positioned himself and was amused to see the tramp from earlier accosting him. She had always mocked his general air of superiority and it always made her chuckle when something like this happened to him. Was surprised to see him hand some coins and she suddenly felt bad that she hadn't done the same. Oh well, long way off hell. Still, gazing at the tramp, she groaned in frustration as he made eye contact and started staggering over towards her again.

"Spare any change love?" he asked again.

"Look mate, harsh as this is, please just fuck off." Elle sighed.

The tramp went to leave, before turning back.

"It's funny you know," he began the slur in his voice suddenly disappearing to be replaced by a clipped tone. "Dress like this, hold a cup out, and no-one notices you whatever you do, not really. They just see what they expect, not what's really there. So Eleonora Jago, look again."

As soon as he'd turned back around, Elle had realised their mistake. They really were losing their touch. But she didn't let her annoyance show. Looked straight back into his eyes and prepared the lie.

"We clocked you an hour ago mate, just didn't want to make the first move. Looks a bit desperate, you know?" she mocked, putting on her tough front despite the fact that her heart was beating hard through her chest.

The man let out a laugh.

"You are an excellent liar Miss Jago," he replied. "But it is neither here nor there really. I presume you know who I am?"

"The big bad Wolf," Elle replied, before cocking her head to the side, a quizzical expression painted on. "I thought you'd be taller."

Another laugh.

"Fair play. You've got guts," he said. "Now should we go and get Mr Malfoy? I have something I wish to show you."

Elle stood up and led the way over towards Malfoy, feeling uncomfortable with The Wolf behind her and not in her eye line, who had naturally heard everything through his earpiece and was ready with his hand outstretched.

"Scorpius Malfoy," he introduced himself as he shook hands with the man. "The Wolf I presume?"

"No need to stand on ceremony Scorpius," The Wolf replied. "Let's not pretend that you don't know who I am."

Scorpius chuckled.

"Well then, do you prefer Mr Lupin, or can I call you Teddy?"


	11. Portrait of the Trequartista

_"Faces on a wall" - The Wolf_

* * *

It was brutal. A bloodbath was the best way Rufus Edwards could describe it. The first Gryffindor v Slytherin match of the season was in full swing above and below him as he watched from the stands. He didn't really have much time for Quidditch, thought it was a waste of time that celebrated the worst elements of organised sport, revelling in it's danger and unsophistication. However, his position within his house forced him to bear witness to such 'entertainment' on a tri yearly basis. It was the only area in which he thanked the lord that the wizarding world and Hogwarts hierarchy was so biased against the Slytherin's because there was never any chance of them getting to the final, the referee almost always saw to that. Cheating by the opposition was ignored, even encouraged, whereas any gamesmanship by the Slytherin's, real or invented, was exaggeratedly punished. It meant that mercifully the games were often short and he never had to sit through a fourth punishment. However, their treatment on the Quidditch pitch was another great way to create support for Unity through his house, so suffer he did, even pretending to be every bit invested as everyone else seemed to be.

Another fight. Unsurprising to see Warrington in the thick of things again. The whole stadium up on it's feet as fists and bats flew through the air, colliding with anything in their path. Suddenly the melee dispersed or rather was thrown backwards by a flick of the referees wand. Three penalties awarded to Gryffindor despite the fact Tommy Finnegan had clearly started the whole ruckus. Zabini fuming in front of the goalpost saves the first one, before the shrill blast of the whistle as the referee demands a re-take. Fury from the Slytherin end. Why did they put themselves through it? Year in year out it is the same. Rufus had suggested previously that they should boycott the Quidditch season, an idea that had been received coolly before being rejected outright. He would broach the subject again later he thought as Slytherin had yet another perfectly reasonable goal disallowed.

"It's utter bullshit!" Melanie Gonzalez his trusted lieutenant exclaimed from beside him. A girl of immigrant Hispanic parents she hadn't been prepared for the treatment she would receive when sorted into Slytherin. A fierce attitude from her first year had seen her become one of his closest allies as she quickly decided to fight with him rather than cower away. Right now she was standing and screaming with the rest of her house, her long black hair flying all over the place in the wind and her usually pleasant features distorted in anger.

"The game, or the referee?" Rufus asked quietly. Melanie was fully aware of his indifference to the sport and chose to ignore him.

What happened next however couldn't be ignored. Rufus had drifted off again and was staring in the direction of the Gryffindor stands when it happened. A flash of red. Zabini falling through the air, smashing into the ground at high speed. An eruption of anger.

"The fuck happened?" he shouted at Melanie over the din.

"I can't fucking believe it… he… fucking Weasley, she stunned him…. He was a hundred feet in the air for God sake." she stuttered

That was enough for Rufus. Even he knew that you don't use your magic on the field, a rule that had always been respected, even at the highest point of tension between the houses. Enough was enough.

"Wand out. Let's go."

And he leapt to the front of the stand before hurdling onto the pitch. Wand drawn. The whole of Slytherin house at his back.

* * *

"It's amazing what they have achieved really," Teddy Lupin began as he led them through Leicester Square, looking around him with an expression of barely concealed wonder. "Muggles, I mean. Just look at it. You know the real reason we still abide by the Statue of Secrecy?"

"Because they'd win." Scorpius replied.

"Exactly," Lupin agreed. "If Voldemort had won his war, it would have been a short victory. They'd have beaten him within weeks, trust me."

Scorpius and Elle remained silent as Lupin weaved through the crowds before turning off into an alley. They glanced at each other, momentarily unsure of whether to follow this dangerous man into uncharted territory, before Elle shrugged at Scorpius and tailed The Wolf into the narrow walkway. Lupin got about half way down the alley before he stopped in front of a boarded up door. Turning to grin at them again, he tapped it three times with his wand. A click and the door sprang wide open.

"After you." he bowed, making a sweeping gesture with his arm.

"Where are we?" Elle asked, both her and Scorpius still rooted to the spot.

"Don't worry, there's nothing sinister going on," Lupin smiled. "I said I wanted to show you something, so here we are. If I wanted to do anything to you I could have done it in the square without even showing my face. I've even been forgiving enough to not mention the three people you have following us." he gestured to the end of the alley where a shadow quickly disappeared.

"Three?" Elle questioned looking at Scorpius.

"I presume two of them are your doing," he replied, amused. "Bit overboard don't you think? I only felt the need for one."

"Can never be too careful." Elle stated.

"You're not wrong Eleonora," Lupin chuckled. "Now, please enter."

Elle looked at Scorpius before making the leap, walking through the door. A strange sensation of floating greeted her fleetingly before disappearing as she found herself in a gleaming white box room, completely empty except for a clear glass desk in the centre with a pristine woman sat behind it, looking at her with a barely disguised expression of distaste.

"Um… hello?" she ventured before she was saved by both Lupin and Scorpius appearing by her side. The woman looked scathingly at Lupin who merely laughed.

"Of course. Excuse me." he apologised before waving his wand. His rags disappeared to be replaced by a cleanly pressed and expensive looking business suit. The woman nodded.

"Good afternoon sir," she greeted in a robotic voice. "Would you like to go down?"

"Please Christine." Lupin winked. The woman rolled her eyes and suddenly, with a jolt, Elle realised that the floor was moving. They were descending down into darkness, the woman quickly disappearing from sight, soon becoming a speck above them as the blackness took over.

"What the fuck Lupin!" Elle shouted.

"Relax," she heard him soothe through the dark. "Almost there".

And with a thud, they were no longer moving. They were standing in impenetrable darkness, she couldn't see her hand in front of her face.

She heard what sounded like a clap and suddenly blinding light pierced through every shred of the room.

"Welcome to the Wizarding National Portrait Gallery."

* * *

Elle blinked several times before recovering her sight. She looked around her and saw that they were in a narrow room, bright white like the one upstairs. But the walls were adorned with picture frames, portraits of witches and wizards stretching as far in both directions as the eye could see.

"Impressive," Scorpius ventured from beside her. "How far are we underground?"

"Only a mile or so," Lupin answered. "We are actually directly underneath the muggle National Portrait Gallery."

"How come I've never heard of this place?" Scorpius asked.

"Few have," Lupin replied. "In fact most have forgotten it's existence. But here lies a portrait of almost every witch and wizard of note for the last thousand years."

"And why are we here?" Elle spoke up.

"We won't be overheard here. And I've always had a little flair for dramatics. Come on, there's a few that might interest you."

They followed him as he stepped off the platform and walked over towards a keypad on a plinth.

"Come closer." he beckoned as he entered a number and suddenly they were moving again, flying past hundreds and hundreds of paintings in the blink of an eye before coming to an abrupt stop.

"The Second Wizarding War." a tinned voice sounded.

"Next time, fucking warn me Lupin." Elle raged feeling dizzy and disorientated.

Once she had recovered she raised her head to find herself looking into familiar grey eyes. Only it wasn't Scorpius. A portrait of a young Draco Malfoy adorned the wall in front of them. He gazed upon them, looking at once regal but also almost childlike in his posture and expression of false indifference. Elle glanced at Scorpius who was looking at his father with a guarded air. He didn't want to reveal anything in front of Lupin, she deduced. Was this his game then? Was Lupin trying to throw them off balance? Of all the paintings he could have shown, this was the first.

"They don't move." Scorpius observed. It was an obvious observation, but Elle realised he was right. She hadn't noticed. None of the portraits were moving an inch.

"No," Lupin asserted. "It always struck me as odd, all those people in a frame moving and talking, a mere echo of their real lives, their personalities. I much prefer this. A confirmation if you will."

"A conformation of what?" Elle asked.

"That they're really dead." he answered simply, his expression darkening briefly.

They were silent for a minute before Scorpius broke it.

"My father's alive," he said baldly. "So why is he here? He's not dead."

"No he's not," Lupin said. "But that version of him is." he finished, gesturing towards the portrait.

The portrait was Draco Malfoy as a Death Eater, Elle realised. She looked around her and saw other faces she recognised, Death Eaters that would never be forgotten sneering down at her. However, the unease she felt with them paled in comparison as her eye caught two portraits on the other side of the room. She walked over to them slowly. The first one showed a young child of only about ten, already handsome and arrogant, poised and composed. She read the gold plaque underneath.

'Tom Marvolo Riddle. 31st December 1927 - 1st September 1938'.

And to the right was what he'd become, disfigured, snake like features, red slits for eyes and hatred poring from every inch of the canvas.

'Lord Voldemort. 1st September 1938 - 2nd May 1998'.

"This is not a place that celebrates our kind," Lupin said as he came and stood beside her. "The bad and the good, they can all be found here. But I come because it reminds me that things are not black and white. There is no such thing as pure evil, just like there is no such thing as pure good. There's a story behind everyone, reasons however valid or invalid, but still reasons. Tom Riddle died on the 1st of September 1938 because that was the beginning of his other life. His life with magic. Before then he was an orphaned child, left alone in the world, barely cared for and without any sense of love or belonging. There's your reasons."

They all lapsed into silence again as they looked upon the paintings in front of them. After about five minutes, Elle heard Lupin curse under his breath. She turned to him and watched as he reached into his inside pocket, produced a vial of a purple liquid, unscrewed the top and quickly threw it down his throat, wincing as he swallowed.

"Sorry," he muttered sheepishly. "Although I was lucky enough to bypass the full werewolf gene, I did inherit some characteristics."

"Basically, you're a bit mental." Elle smirked.

Lupin laughed loudly.

"Well put, yes. Without the potion I'm prone to the occasional rage outburst and the like. But you already knew that."

"Yes, we knew it wasn't just a nickname." Scorpius cut in.

"Adelaide said." Lupin replied before wandering down the hall, coming to a stop in front of another portrait about 100 metres past the previous ones they had looked at and on the other side of the room.

Elle knew instantly that they were looking at Teddy Lupin's parents. The woman had the same heart shaped face as him and the man had a similar rugged appearance. She looked across at Lupin, who's face showed no emotion.

"This is my parents," he confirmed simply. "They died in the Battle of Hogwarts. Lestrange and Dolohov apparently. They're just over there, faces on a wall. That doesn't really annoy me though. I'm not consumed by revenge or any of that shit. Things happen and you deal with them, you move on. No use in living in the past."

"Your mother was beautiful." Elle ventured after a while before silence descended again. But again, it was Lupin who broke it first.

"But I get angry though sometimes," he confessed. "You know, they left me alone in this world. They left me. And I've always been an outsider, even with the Potter's and the Weasley's. They took me in, raised me with love, but I was always apart from them somehow. Maybe it's because of that that I can see what they've become, how distorted they really are. Whenever I get angry now, I remember what my parents died for. And I know that this isn't it. This isn't the world that they died for. And that's why I did what I did. That's why I betrayed those who raised me, passed on secrets to the Unity group, and that's why when I got found out I ran away to join them. That's why I've done what I've done…."

He trailed off and Elle saw a hint regret and sadness in his eyes before it was replaced by steel.

"Anyway," Lupin forced a smile. "Let's discuss the real reason I invited you here."

"It was us who reached out to you," Scorpius said sharply. "Not the other way round."

"Oh come on Scorpius, you think you have the upper hand in this?" Lupin grinned, confidence shining through. "You're smart enough to know that I'm only here because I want something. Luckily for you, this will be a mutually beneficial something."

"What do you want from us?" Elle asked warily.

Teddy Lupin laughed and smiled jovially at the both of them.

"I want you to break into the Ministry of Magic of course."

* * *

It was brutal. A bloodbath was the only way Rufus Edwards could describe it as he ducked another jet of light aimed in his direction. Utter chaos. The whole of Gryffindor and Slytherin house had stormed the pitch, the Slytherin's in anger, the Gryffindor's in defence. He shot another stunner in the direction of Hugo Weasley, missing by an inch as he ducked and weaved through the crowds. In some cases, wands had been forgotten, he saw Warrington swooping through the air, beater bat in hand, bringing it down upon any opposition. Those without the advantage of brooms, duelled and scrapped on the ground. Utter chaos. He saw Melanie go down, paralysed by Rose Weasley. Anger engulfed him once more. How could he have been so delusional to think that non aggression tactics could work in this castle? He charged towards Weasley, his wand forgotten, only to be shoulder charged my an unknown assailiant and fall to the ground himself. It was lucky in a sense as just as he was about to raise himself, he felt the ground shudder as hundreds of bodies were thrown to the floor stunned, the figure of Professor McGonagall in the middle of the pitch, wand raised and a look of fury etched on her aged face.

"THAT IS ENOUGH!" she roared and silenced descended. Never had any of the students, or probably the staff, seen such an imposing sight.

"NEVER, NEVER, IN ALL MY YEARS HAVE I SEEN SUCH A DISGRACE! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED!"

No-one could move as she continued her tirade. The spell was too strong. But Rufus didn't listen to her. McGonagall was the headmistress, had always been the fairest of the teachers, be she was still to blame for all this, he thought. She could, she should have done more to prevent this. It was always going to happen. Maybe she realised, as she seemed to deflate in front of them and her voice now came across defeated.

"The Quidditch season is cancelled. The teams will be disbanded."

At least some good had come out of this.

"Gryffindor's up!" she commanded. "Your head of house will escort you back to your common room."

Then the Hufflepuff's, then the Ravenclaw's. Slytherin's left till last again.

"Now Slytherin's. Go!"

* * *

Elle looked at Lupin for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Yeah ok," she spat, laughter dying down. "Time to go Scorpius."

"I think you might be right." Scorpius agreed, but neither of them made a move to leave, something that Lupin picked up on.

"You need to work more on your bluffing skills," he laughed. "Ok. Let me explain the situation to you.."

"Don't fucking patronise me Lupin," Scorpius threatened. "You have no idea what we can do to you. We can make your life a living….."

"ENOUGH!" Lupin shouted, his demeanour changing from friendly to dangerous in an instant. "You think I don't know you Scorpius? You may have been able to put the fear of God into Adelaide but you're in a different league now. I'm not some drug dealer. I'm not some thief that you can threaten. I've seen things and done things that you could only dream of!"

Scorpius backed up a few paces, Elle following. For as good as they were, they knew that this was a fight they couldn't win. They could duel him, and probably win, but all that would result in was a death sentence. One thing about Unity, they looked after their own. And The Wolf was their prize asset. Talisman.

"Now, leave if you want to," Lupin continued. "If you don't want what you came for then by all means go right ahead. But if you have any sense, you will hear me out.

Elle looked at Scorpius and he held her gaze. They had to stay. She knew that and it was what she was trying to convey to him with her eyes. She knew that he knew it too, but she was worried his ego would get in the way. That fear proved unfounded as he nodded at her.

"Say what you have to say." Elle directed towards Lupin.

"Right decision," Lupin smiled, going back to his easygoing and alarmingly cheerful attitude as quickly as he had shifted from it.

"Okay then," he began. "Firstly, I know why you wanted to meet with me. Some of it's factual, some educated guesswork. You were, like Adelaide, presented with a dossier showing some of your more illegal dealings. And, like Adelaide you don't know where it's come from or who is behind it or what the repercussions are. So you've come to me because you think I'm your best shot at finding out whether it's coming from the Auror department. Correct?"

"So far so good." Elle muttered.

"Don't be like that Eleonora," Lupin laughed. "You have to admit it wasn't the most subtle approach. Although due to the time constraints and delicacy of the issue, it is probably the only thing you could of done so fair enough."

"Seeing as you think you know everything, shall we cut to the chase?" Scorpius said emotionlessly.

"Of course. One question though, what were you going to offer me in return for giving up my source?" Lupin queried.

"Money." Elle said simply.

"Well then, I would have disappointed you on two counts. Firstly, I have no interest in or need for money. The Unity group has a substantial amount of benefactors both publicly and secretly. Secondly, I have no source inside the department. No-one does."

"You're lying." Elle accused, but she knew he wasn't and could feel Scorpius deflate next to her.

"But… Joanne Joyce…" Scorpius began.

"Joanne Joyce?" Lupin questioned, leaping on Malfoys slip up, realisation dawning. "Of course, that's why you were so sure. You thought that we'd got her off the murder charge."

It had been an obvious conclusion to draw when Scorpius had held up the paper a few weeks ago. Slytherins didn't get found innocent. Not unless they had friends in the movement. It had seemed so perfect. If Unity had got Joyce off, then Lupin would have had to have been involved. An ex Auror? They had been so sure that he'd used his contacts.

"If you didn't then who did?" Elle wondered, annoyed that they had been wrong. "Unity's the only group with the power to challenge the Ministry. How the hell did a Slytherin get off a charge when she had been made to seem so guilty?"

"If it makes you feel better, we have no idea how she did it either," Lupin said looking slightly troubled. "She won't talk to anyone. We even sent Mickey Bricks in….."

"Well, if he can't get answers, then no-one can." Scorpius sighed. Mickey Bricks was the best con artist in the wizarding world and could normally extract information out of anyone through layers of manipulation.

"Precisely," Lupin responded. "However, all is not lost for you. There is still a way and as far as I can tell, I'm still your best shot of getting the information you need."

"This is where we come to your fucking ridiculous request I suppose." Elle sneered.

"Just hear me out," Lupin said holding both hands up. "On the Wednesday before Christmas, the Unity group will hold a protest in Diagon Alley. This will be the biggest of its kind. At half past one, a law enforcement patrolmen will attack the crowd with stunning spells…"

"A plant, I presume?"

"Of course," Lupin continued. "Therefore at two o'clock, as the situation escalates, and it will, the Ministry will dispatch all available personal and will be as free of Law Enforcement and Aurors as it will ever be…."

"And that's where we, the possible wanted felons by the same Auror department, break in." Elle stated dryly.

"Listen, I can get you the blueprints, the security rotas, a list of all the protective spells and how to disable them. I can give you a way in and a way out. And I can give you the team that did the Belgrade job last summer."

"You did that?" Elle asked in amazement. The Belgrade bank robbery had already become a legend in their circles.

"I may or may not have been present." Lupin smirked.

"I thought you had no interest in money."

"Often money is the least valuable thing in a bank vault." he replied enigmatically.

"If you're such a crack shot, then why get us to do this. Just do it yourself." Elle said.

"I'm needed elsewhere," Lupin replied. "And more importantly, he wants to see what you can do."

So they'd caught his attention. They'd probably been naive to think they could fly under his radar. The exploits and talents if Scorpius Malfoy couldn't be kept secret for long.

"Who is he?" Scorpius asked. "La Volpe?"

"He's the best man I've ever known," Lupin replied simply. "They'll come a time Scorpius when your arrogance will get the best of you, and you'll start to believe what you already suspect to be true. That you're the greatest of a generation. But this man…..this man is so much more than you can ever be."

"Someone's got a crush." Elle muttered.

"Whatever," Scorpius dismissed Lupin, now was not the time. "What does Unity need from the Ministry?"

"You do not need to know that," Lupin replied, wheeling away from them to look at a portrait of Severus Snape. "We will give you the file numbers and you will find them, duplicate them and give them to us. No trace and no questioned asked. In return you get access to all the Auror departments files. Not only can you retrieve the information you need, but I imagine people of your disposition could have a field day with what is contained in that room."

Elle looked at Scorpius again, and she instantly knew that he was going to agree to the proposal. Not because he was an open book, but because she was going to agree as well. She didn't like it, she didn't trust Lupin, she didn't have a suicide wish. But as Lupin had said earlier, they were on limited time. Still, they were going to do this their way.

"We'll think about it." she directed towards Lupin, pushing Scorpius onto the plinth and pressing the exit key.

"You have until Friday. Send your answer through Rufus Edwards!" Lupin called to them as they moved away, his laughter quickly disappearing behind them as they sped off.

They didn't speak as they emerged into the sunlight and moved towards the earlier agreed upon apparition point. They were both lost in their own thoughts and also possibly afraid to say what they were going to do out loud. They were going to break into the most technologically and magically advanced building on the planet on the orders of somebody they had met that day, a known traitor and liar. For people who had always calculated the odds so methodically, this was ridiculous. But they had no choice.

They apparated into Hogsmeade, mechanically casting disillusionment charms and beginning the walk back towards the castle. As they reached the gates, Elle was brought out of her dreaded sense of foreboding by Scorpius.

"Is that… is that smoke?" he asked.

It was. They tore through the gates, pelting up towards the castle. Suddenly, as they reached open ground they were stopped in their tracks by the sight in front of them. Both gazed in shock at the open wasteland in front of them. Elle looked around and scooped up a piece of metal from the floor, before dropping it in shock at the heat emitting from it. A large round, circular hoop. Where the Quidditch stadium had once loomed was now just ash and dust.

* * *

"Now Slytherin's. Go!"

As his house dusted themselves off and trudged away up towards the castle, Rufus stopped and looked back at the deserted stadium. He didn't know why, but he knew he had to make a statement now. He had to do something. To shock them. These people. Shock them all.

"Incendio" he whispered, and the main stand was engulfed in twenty foot high flames. His house all turned round and watched, defiance written all over their faces, flames dancing in their eyes And McGonagall? She looked back and forth between the disgraced house of Slytherin and the arena that had come to symbolise Gryffindor's supposed superiority before sighing and taking off, back towards her office, letting it all burn. Defeated. Rufus could only grin. Burnt to the ground.


	12. Poses

_"... making it actually mean something" - Lucy Weasley_

* * *

"Can I ask why Lily Potter is staring at you?" Scorpius asked at breakfast the next day.

Elle looked up from her toast, eyes seeking the Gryffindor table, and sure enough she met a pair of green eyes for a split second before the youngest Potter shyly looked down, hiding behind her fringe. Looked at her for a moment longer before she shifted her gaze and met Lucy Weasley's grey pools smirking back at her from the Ravenclaw table. How that girl wasn't a Slytherin was anyone's guess. She sneered back before turning to Scorpius.

"No idea Malfoy," she replied. "Maybe she was more impressed with my come on lines than you were the other day."

"Please, your game needs so much work." he chortled.

"Says you. How longs it been eh Malfoy? That witch in the Crevice last month hardly counts."

"How so?"

"She had a lazy eye for one." she laughed.

"Still counts." he responded churlishly.

"Sorry, I didn't realise you were offering care in the community now."

"Bitch. She was a very attractive witch."

"Mate, come on….."

"Okay I admit she wasn't the best…."

"Understatement of the century." Elle muttered, interrupting.

"….But we shouldn't judge on looks now should we," he continued. "If we did then you'd be fucked."

"Very funny," she said dryly. "Luckily my sparkling sunny disposition more than makes up for any defects in my appearance."

"Of course." he added and they looked at each other and laughed.

It had only been one night since their meeting with The Wolf, but Elle had the feeling that they were getting back on track. Last night and this morning had seemed so much better. No passive aggressive comments or rolling of eyes. Just good old fashioned British piss taking. This was better. This, they were experts in. It was ironic that they had got back to something resembling normality in their relationship just when their legal troubles were at their peak and the castle was falling apart around them, literally in the case of the Quidditch stadium. Rufus would become a legend for that. And he hadn't even received a punishment, not yet anyway. Elle had to admit she was impressed. Doing what he did took the balls that she didn't think he had. Fair play to him. But the Great Hall this morning was on a knife edge. All houses seemed furious, lines were being drawn. It had the potential for utter chaos. Elle grinned at the thought.

"I'll tell you someone who doesn't seem to think you have any defects in the looks department," Scorpius said quietly. "Lily Potter. She's looking again. And don't think I didn't notice you change the subject earlier. Anything I should know?"

"Course not." Elle responded, not entirely truthfully, She hadn't told him about the astronomy tower the other night. She had been pissed off at him and to be honest it was nothing really. Elle liked to flirt when she thought it might amuse her, and her brief loss of control in the situation had nothing to do with the redhead really she told herself. No, it was a reaction to his moment of madness.

"If you say so…." Scorpius trailed off, unconvinced.

"I do. Besides, we have more important things to think about, or have you forgotten yesterdays little excursion where we may or may not have agreed to run a suicide mission."

"Not here Elle," Scorpius warned, glancing around. "We'll talk about this later. I need to send some letters then I'll meet you at the spot to discuss this."

"The spot? Is that what we're calling it now? You sound like some Baltimore drug dealer."

"Why Baltimore?"

"Have you not seen The Wire?" she asked incredulous.

"What the fuck is The Wire?"

"It's like poverty porn for white people."

"What are you talking about? You know what, never mind, I have to go." he said, standing up.

"Yes to send some letters. Fucking wizards and their ridiculously slow forms of communication. Just get a phone."

"Whatever," he replied, making to leave. "And by the way Elle…" he leant down and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"What the fuck was that Malfoy?" she whispered, he was still cheek to cheek with her. "I hate to disappoint but I'm clearly not your type, both my eyes work fine."

"Relax," he whispered in her ear. "Lily Potter just went a shade greener if you know what I mean." and as Elle looked across the room again, he was away with a snicker.

"We'll talk about this later." he called in a sing song voice back to her as he exited the hall.

"Fucker." she cursed under her breath, but she was amused all the same. Knew she shouldn't but couldn't help but feel a little pleased that Lily was showing her such furtive attention. No doubt she thought she was being subtle. As long as it stayed harmless it was fine. Let out a chuckle at the absurdity of it.

"Care to share the joke?" a voice questioned from behind her, and before she knew it Melanie Gonzales had slid in next to her.

"Not really." Elle responded curtly. Whilst she quite liked the witch next to her, even admired her tough disposition, she didn't care to share her time with someone who spent so much of her own in the company of Rufus Edwards.

"Fair enough," she replied, not in the least bit put out. "You okay? You haven't been in the dorm for days."

"Keeping tabs on me Mels?"

"Just worried for a fellow housemate."

"Yeah well, don't know if you've noticed but I'm not one for 'girl talk'. Small talk either so just get to the point."

"Alright, alright," Melanie held her hands up. "I just had an interesting conversation with Toby Jones."

"The Hufflepuff?" Elle asked, slightly intrigued despite herself.

"Correct. Seems that we ruffled a few feathers yesterday."

"Yeah well, nothing to do with me," Elle dismissed. "But I am interested to know how he's got away with it. Rufus I mean."

"No-one except our lot saw him cast the spell, so that's that."

"You really think they're going to let this lie?" Elle scoffed.

"If they know what's good for them." Melanie stated boldly.

"Big talk. I hope you can back it up. Anyway, Jones?"

"Right yes," Melanie began. "It seems that they at least are not going to let this lie as you put it."

"The Hufflepuff's?" Elle laughed. "Please, what are they going to do?"

"I know, I know. But they've teamed up with some of the Ravenclaw's on this. They're calling an inter-house meeting for tonight."

"Naive twats," Elle mocked, looking across at Melanie to share an exasperated eye roll. However, she was met with a stone cold serious expression. "Wait, Rufus isn't considering this is he?"

Melanie confirmed it with a sharp look.

"Is he mental?" Elle exploded in a whisper. "The rule is, when something like this happens, we close ranks. Slytherin cuts itself off from everybody else until it all calms down. That way we avoid anything unsavoury."

"Not this time." Melanie responded calmly.

"For fuck sake. Inter-house meeting? It'll be a disaster."

"Not if you and Malfoy are there." Melanie said slyly

"No. This isn't our fight." Elle said with finality.

"Look, Jones has got assurances from Albus Potter himself that not only will he be there, but that there will be no hostility."

"And you believe that?" Elle questioned sarcastically.

"One thing about Potter is that he keeps his word. You know that."

It was true, Elle concluded. Although she hated the boy, she had to admit that he conducted his business in a manner at least resembling honour. Whilst not above the slyer forms of cold warfare, he was pretty straight up most of the time.

"Why do you need us then?" Elle asked.

"We probably don't, but Rufus would feel better if you were there."

"He says jump and we ask how high? Fuck off."

"Just think about it. 8 o'clock in the Room of Requirement." Melanie concluded and she drifted away to the other end of the table.

Elle stood up and walked briskly out of the hall, feeling Lily Potter's eyes on her the whole time. Only now, she wasn't as amused. She needed nicotine.

* * *

Elle decided to brave the cold and take a walk around the lake. She needed to think some things through, and pretentious as it was she needed to be somewhere in the open where it was easy to forget that she was surrounded by these people. She arrived quickly to her surprise and immediately reached for a cigarette. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly, that was the mantra. Looked out at the water for a while, watching the lazy movement of the ripples. They were on the verge, she could feel it. Everything was going to come to a head soon. She knew they could do it, break into the Ministry that is, but to do it and not get caught or leave any suspicion was going to be the biggest challenge either of them had ever faced. And a war was coming. It seemed inevitable. Unity would soon have enough support to begin more concentrated action, and that could only lead one way. Chaos. And whilst she had smiled earlier at the thought of shaking up the castle, this would be entirely different, nothing to smile about. This would lead to casualties on both sides. This had real life consequences, not like the petty squabbles of this castle.

She looked around at the winter's landscape. So remote. So cold. So unforgiving in its sparseness. It was times like these she longed for the city, longed for London, her home above any. Being there yesterday just made the ache worse. In this contemplative mood she often despaired at her situation, the trials of the Slytherin. She had been lucky in the sense that despite being a muggle born, she had always had Scorpius there with her, to stand with her. And she had had her own talents. If she had just been an average witch and Scorpius had never walked round that corner on that first night she dreaded to think how much worse her life would really be. But no-one fucked with her, not anymore. At least not in this castle. Outside was another matter and their career choices which had at first seemed such fun had now become something else entirely. The game was getting fiercer as they got older, and she wasn't sure they could keep up while still staying true to themselves.

They'd get out soon, she promised herself then and there. Her and Scorpius were clever enough to do anything, Lily was right about that. If this world wouldn't make room for them then they would take their talents elsewhere. They could get the gold. And just live well. Because this rip and run, scamming and cheating was already getting old. When you'd been at it your whole life, the romanticised glasses soon slipped off. Jaded at sixteen, she laughed to herself.

But here and now, she had matters to deal with. This inter-house meeting didn't sit right, but she was a bit curious all the same. She knew Scorpius would refuse to go along, but she might herself take a peek. Probably get some laughs out of it at least. Now this Ministry business. She had some ideas of how they should proceed, but it was important to defer to Scorpius. She stubbed out her third cigarette beneath her ratty converses and headed back to the castle to begin phase one of the suicide mission.

* * *

"Letters all sent then?" she asked Scorpius as she strolled into the chamber. "They'll surely be delivered in two weeks time. Great service that, so much better than a text."

"Never did embrace our world did you Elle?"

"Not for a second. Fucking stupid place. Stupid hats and stupid clothes, stupid sports and stupid people." she responded.

"Ah, come on," Scorpius grinned. "You love us really."

"Keep telling yourself that. Right then shall we crack on?"

"To business!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"You're remarkably jovial today." Elle observed.

"Nothing like a sense of impending doom to raise the spirits." he replied with a laugh.

"Whatever. Right first of all, I presume we are in agreement that we have to do this?"

"Of course," Scorpius confirmed. "We need to know whether the Aurors are after us and if they are, what they have."

"Speaking of, did you find Twig?" she questioned, referring to the rake who'd supplied them with the information that they were being watched in the first place.

"Not yet. I think he's done a runner."

"Suspicious." Elle mused

"Maybe, maybe not. But now, we need our full focus on this. Which means that your project has to be put on hold." he said, gesturing towards her festering potion in the corner.

"Unfortunately, I agree. I'll put a freezing spell on it and come back to it later." she sighed.

"Good." Scorpius, looking a little more relieved than he should of in Elle's opinion. Probably just worried she'd have a go at him again. Before she could pursue that line of thought, Scorpius began again.

"Right, well I think that we should do this ourselves. I don't trust Lupin and I can't trust his team." Scorpius asserted.

"But they did Belgrade! Like the greatest heist this century." Elle exclaimed incredulous.

"We are more than capable of doing this. If we need to bring others in then we get our own people. We can't do something this big with people we don't trust." he stated logically.

"You're right," Elle muttered, defeated. It would have been nice to trade war stories with the Belgrade legends, but when he was right, he was right.

"Apart from that, I don't see what else we can do until we get the blueprints and such. Shall we give the word today?" Scorpius asked.

"Not yet, one more thing," Elle began, about to voice an idea that had been in her head since they got back. "I don't want to go in on Wednesday. I want to do it the day before."

"You heard Lupin, the department will be almost empty on the Wednesday at the right time. Why wouldn't we go then?" Scorpius asked, confused.

"You've just said we can't work with people we can't trust. That includes him. We have to mistrust everything he tells us, gives us."

"We have to trust the information he gives us, otherwise we can't do it." Scorpius said with a hint of impatience.

"Just think about it Scorpius. Is there ever a good time to break in to the Auror department really? If we go the day before, we're in control, we know what we're facing. The Wednesday there's too many variables. Much better to go in on an ordinary day where the patterns are established. Anything can happen when they're forced to break routine. No, that routine is our ticket in and out."

Scorpius turned round and was quiet for a bit, only pausing his thoughts to light a cigarette.

"Good," he turned round with a smile. "You're right. Okay, so we tell him we will use our own team, but tell him that we'll still do it on Wednesday. He'll give us what we need and we'll go the day before. That was good thinking."

He smiled at her and she felt proud of herself. This job would feel like a real joint effort now, something she needed.

"Alright, I'll tell Edwards tonight." Scorpius said.

"No I'll do it," Elle stated, much to the surprise of Scorpius. "I'll tell him later. The Hufflepuff's and Ravenclaw's have called some stupid inter-house meeting and I thought I'd go along. Edwards will be there. You want to come?"

"I heard a whisper about that earlier, thought it was a joke. Fuck no I don't want to go, waste of time. Why are you going?"

"I don't know," Elle pondered. "Just intrigued me a bit I guess. And there might be a scrap."

"Well, when you put it like that…. No, I can't be bothered. I'll go for a fly instead, run through some ideas for the job," Scorpius mused. "Anyway, before all that we should run through some spells, get some training in."

"Fuck," Elle groaned. "What are we doing this time….."

* * *

At quarter to eight, Elle left the chamber, parting with Scorpius as he went to fetch his broom She headed to the Room of Requirement leisurely and was soon integrated into a small crowd that were moving in the same direction. It was a fifth year and above meeting and it seemed as if most of her peer group were turning out for it. Elle herself wasn't going to get involved. She wasn't going to stand next to Rufus and the rest of the Unity lot like she was some kind of mascot. Like she was with them. Truth be told she didn't know why she was even going really, maybe just something to do. She almost turned back when she got to the right corridor, but something made her go in. She entered in amongst a throng, keen not to be observed. The room had transformed itself into its own version of the House of Commons, only with four sides all facing inwards to a podium where Toby Jones and a Ravenclaw girl she didn't recognize were stood talking quietly, obviously nervous. Elle located the Slytherin benches at the far end and slipped into the back in the darkest corner she could find, casting a disillusionment charm on herself. Didn't want to be seen. Rufus was of course right at the front, looking as self important as ever. Hopefully he could control himself today. The Gryffindor's including the whole Potter and Wesley clan were in the same position opposite, sending glares across the room. Albus Potter was at the head, all business today. Surprisingly, Lily was also here by his side. Elle wondered about that. Maybe it was a show of faith by Albus, who in that moment looked over in her direction. Despite being invisible to most, a simple disillusionment charm did not fool a wizard as capable as Potter, and he saw right through it, holding eye contact. Elle sneered at him and he laughed, turning to mutter something to his sister before getting up and moving over towards her, furtively casting his own charm as he went. Interesting.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Albus said as he quietly sat down next to her, hidden from the sight of all. "You and Malfoy throwing your lot in with Edwards finally?"

"Fuck no," Elle replied. "Just thought it might be a laugh."

"Fucking ridiculous isn't it?" Albus laughed quietly.

"Yeah like an inter house meeting will stop us from loathing you and vice versa." Elle scoffed.

"No, I mean the whole thing. This whole fucking castle."

Elle was shocked into silence by his tone. He sounded tired, old beyond his years.

"Aren't you bored of it?" he asked her.

"What's your game Potter?" Elle questioned suspiciously. "Why are we having this conversation?"

Albus ignored her question and leaned back on the bench, taking in the scene around him.

"Just look at them all," he spoke with barely disguised disgust. "My lot, your lot, the rest of these pricks. So convinced they can change things, so wide eyed, so fucking… wrong. But I can't say that, can't tell them how pointless they all are. No, in a minute I'm going to have to stand at the front there and nod at whatever Jones says, trade some barbs with Edwards, pretend to make some concessions that everyone knows I won't keep to, and then trudge back to my common room and explain it all again to the rest of my sorry housemates. Yeah, I'm fucking bored of it Eleonora. So bored."

Elle met his speech with a stony glare.

"If you're so bored Potter then get yourself a hobby. Get laid more. Just get out of my fucking face."

Albus didn't look offended as he stood up to leave her. He just smiled slightly.

"You're no better Eleonora," he began. "You think you are, but you're not. You and Malfoy, it's just a pose as well. We all have our parts to play, you two are no different. And if we're not careful, these masks we all choose to hide behind will stick, and then where will we be?"

With that he slipped away leaving Elle to think on his words. In some ways he was right, she knew that. Poses. The word stuck with her. So many poses in this castle. But more pressing was why he had approached her in the first place. They weren't exactly on sharing terms. Was he cracking, or was he as in control as ever? What was his game? What was his pose? She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of wood on wood and a voice calling the audience to order. Well, she'd see one of Albus Potter's masks soon. For now, Toby Jones.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming today," his voice rang out loud and clear, not betraying the nervousness that Elle knew was there. Only the slight tremor in his left hand gave him away.

"My house, Hufflepuff, has called this meeting in conjecture with our Ravenclaw friends to discuss the distressing events of the last few days. No, actually no. Not just the last few days, our whole school lives. We stand before you today to say enough is enough. Our houses will no longer stand by and watch you attempt to destroy each other. We have been caught in the crossfire one to many times. And although I am grateful that the leaders of both houses are in attendance tonight, I do not thank you for what you have let this castle become. Your leadership has overseen the worst period this castle has witnessed in a generation. It can't continue. It just can't. Now my Ravenclaw colleague has some words to add."

Toby Edwards sat down composed and poised, allowing the Ravenclaw girl he had been talking to earlier to take over. Elle listened to her for half a minute before zoning out at the expense of more of the same. She was a little impressed by Jones' speech, but Potter had been right. He couldn't change a thing here. She looked over at the Gryffindor's who were all so clearly unmoved. Ditto the Slytherin's. As Potter had said, they'd have to make some form of concessions tonight, neither could afford to alienate the rest of the castle. But it was just more empty promises. And everyone with half a brain knew it. She saw Rufus down below her, undoubtedly plotting on how to best spin this in his favour and felt a little disgusted. She didn't want to be here anymore. She slid down the back of the raised platform she had been sitting on and began to move around the edges of the room towards the famous door. She caught Albus' eye briefly as he was addressing the crowd and he gave her a subtle shrug of the shoulders. Elle didn't like this familiarity. She wanted nothing to do with him. As she neared the exit she heard the unmistakable tone of Lucy Weasley call out and turned back to the scene in front of her sharply.

"Come on now children," Lucy began mockingly, stepping down from her position into the middle of the room. "We all know what this is really about. Quidditch has been cancelled and you can't handle the fact that there is no longer any way for you to prove your masculinity in front of everyone. Pathetic really."

"Lucy…." Albus warned.

"Calm down dearest cousin," she grinned at him "Besides, I'm not in your house remember? I haven't pledged my allegiance to the great son of Harry Potter. This is an open forum is it not?" she asked looking at Jones who gave a nod. "Therefore let me speak."

Albus conceded and sat down.

"Now then, where was I?" Lucy pondered to the crowd. "Oh yes, we were talking about your pathetic need to relieve all that pubescent testosterone by throwing and catching different size balls. When I put it like that it's a bit gay really isn't it? Although you are looking good Tobes. I don't normally go in for Hufflepuff's but if you ever need to um…..relieve some stress as it were, let me know yeah?"

Elle bit back laugh as Toby Jones went red in the face. She could see why Scorpius found this Weasley so interesting. She broke all the rules and looked good doing it. She had the whole crowd in the palm of her hand and she knew it as she flashed Elle a brief mischievous grin. Potter was not the only one smart enough to see through a disillusionment charm then.

"You got a point to make Weasley?" asked Rufus Edwards. "Or are we just all going to have to bear witness to some fifth years slaggish tendencies?"

"Call my cousin a slag one more time Edwards and see what fucking happens!" Rose Weasley bit.

"You're right, apologies," Rufus said slimily. "It's just I would like to keep this meeting as succinct as possible. But of course there was no need for such vulgarity. Carry on Weasley."

"Why thank you your highness," Lucy mock bowed in his direction. "But if you don't mind me saying, why are you stood at the front of your house Rufus? I think we all know who wields the real power in Slytherin and it's certainly not yourself. So where is Scorpius Malfoy?"

There was a silence as Rufus flushed, slightly embarrassed. He must hate it, Elle thought. Because whatever he did, and however little Scorpius did, the fact of the matter was that someone like Malfoy came along once in a lifetime. Edwards had done better than he could of expected, but in this castle he would always be in his illustrious housemates shadow. The room was suddenly full of mocking jeers from the other houses, calls of "Where's Malfoy?" echoing around he room. She looked at her house on the other side of the room, embarrassed and alone against yet more abuse. Looked back at the door. But she couldn't leave them. They were her housemates. She might not like them but it was ingrained in the Slytherin DNA, even hers and to a much lesser extent Malfoy's, to protect their house at all cost. She'd duelled people for Parkinson before for fuck sake. And now, looking at her almost defeated house she knew she had to do something. And fuck it, if she was going to do this, she might as well look as badass as possible.

She lifted the disillusionment charm, and began to walk as nonchalantly as possible towards the middle of the room. Delayed silence fell as she came into full view of all. She looked around smirking before coming to a stop at the central podium next to Lucy Weasley, holding the gaze of all four sides briefly, all eyes on her. Still silence. Then she reached into her pocket to pull out a cigarette, lighting it with her wand. Exhaling smoke in Lucy's face and grinning condescendingly. She then sauntered over to the Slytherin side, giving the hard benches a disdainful look before conjuring a sofa from thin air at the front of the raked seating and preceding to lie across it with her feet up, cigarette dangling from her lips and smoke rings forming in the air above her.

"Sorry," she smirked around her, eyes closed, expression of casual indifference, voice not raised but heard by all in the deathly silence. "Please do carry on."

No-one heeded her command and the silence continued before it was broken by a put out Tommy Finnegan.

"We asked about Malfoy, not his bitch."

The Slytherin's began to get up from their seats, ready to hit back, but Elle raised a hand to stop them and quiet descended once more.

"Malfoy sends his apologies," she began. "He's a little busy. You know how your sister gets Finnegan, the term gagging for it barely covers it."

Laughs from all quarters, even some Gryffindor's couldn't contain a snort. Elle, encouraged, continued.

"She even makes him wear Slytherin green when he's fucking her. It's some Fifty Shades shit I'm telling you…."

"You fucking bitch I'll….."

"POTTER," Elle raised her voice, cutting Finnegan off, denting his pride even more. "Tell your boyfriend to shut up and let the grown ups talk yeah?"

She opened one eye and cocked her eyebrow towards Albus, who despite himself looked amused by the scene.

"Albus, you can't let her….."

"Enough Tommy," Albus interrupted silencing the boy for good, before turning back to Elle. "Nice of you to join us Eleonora, we were just listening to my less than sweet cousin over there. Lucy, please continue."

"Thank you Albus." Lucy said and all eyes turned back to her. Elle shut her eyes once again, but listened intently to the brown haired girls words. She was a slippery one, chaos in five foot six form. Elle found herself, much to her amusement, a bit turned on by it all.

"Now," Lucy continued. "You've come here under the misguided illusion that you want to do good for your houses," she directed at the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff sides. "But really, we all know you're just annoyed because the fucking Quidditch has been cancelled. So, what can we do? How can we satisfy both parties, the ego and the do-gooder? How can we settle this once and for all? Can we sate the need for competition whilst also making it actually mean something?"

No-one spoke up and Lucy laughed that enigmatic laugh of hers.

"Really? Nothing? Fucking hell we really need some creative thinking classes in this school or something. Well, it just so happens that I bring the answer with me."

And in that moment, it was confirmed to Elle what she suspected Lucy was going to propose as soon as she started asking her patronising rhetorical questions. She knew what was coming.

"Four houses," Lucy loudly whispered dramatically, everyone focused on her intently. "Four champions. Winner takes all."

Murmuring amongst the benches, questions asked. What was she talking about? Who the fuck did she think she was? Does she mean what I think she means?"

"You're suggesting some kind of tournament?" Rufus questioned Lucy above the mutterings.

"Sort of Rufus," Elle answered for the Weasley for all to hear. "She's suggesting a duelling competition."

More murmuring around the room.

"Gold star Jago. Gold star indeed." Lucy smirked.

* * *

Elle sat up and looked around at her peer group and to her despair, the idea appeared to be taking hold judging by the excitement in the eyes of most, particularly the fifth and seventh years in attendance. The younger group were just excited for action whereas the older students had something to prove. She looked around at other familiar faces and saw her own reservations reflecting back at her. Toby Jones had gone white, as had some of his Hufflepuff friends. Albus looked inscrutable, but Elle could read him well enough to know he wasn't enthralled by the idea. It would be him if this was agreed, everyone knew it. A chance to prove himself as the undisputed king. But who could stand in his way? The smarter Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's knew that no-one in their houses had a much of a chance against him. But arrogance and ego were a blinding thing, and the majority of those houses looked up for it, keen to win back some house pride, create history, haul their houses out of the shadows of the two dominant forces. Elle looked towards the Ravenclaw's and could see their sharp minds working out what she already knew. For them, and the Hufflepuff's, it was win win. Even though they had a minimal chance of walking away victorious, they had nothing to lose. If they were defeated then no-one would care, it was expected after all. But if they won…. If they won? Glory. Pure and utter glory.

The Gryffindor's were in some cases exuberant. Here was the opportunity to once and for all humiliate their sworn enemy above repair. However there was the one question that lingered around the room, one question that was seeping out, one question that if answered would change everything.

Would Scorpius Malfoy step into the ring?

Elle didn't think so. She couldn't say for certain, but she suspected that he would scoff. He didn't care what anyone thought of him, wouldn't care if he was called out as a coward, wouldn't care if his house took it's biggest hit since the loss of the Second Wizarding War. Yes, he had defended them in the past, but only when really pushed, only to protect himself and his interests. And he wouldn't go against Potter simply because he didn't think he had anything to prove. In his mind he was the better wizard by far, the more controlled, the more dangerous, undoubtedly the more skilled. And he was probably right. No, he was right. He knew it and Elle was sure that Albus knew it too. But Albus also knew Scorpius as only a fellow genius could. Knew that he was unlikely to involve himself. Knew he thought he was above this pettiness. Because that really was what it was. Poses and pettiness.

She turned around to face her housemates, automatically seeking out Rufus, who's eyes asked the question. Would he do it? She shook her head at him. No. Don't risk it. But he just shrugged helplessly as if to say 'what can I do?'

Wood on wood called the meeting to order again, Toby Jones standing up.

"Look," he said nervously. "This was not what this meeting was supposed to be about…."

But he was drowned out by pockets of jeers from the crowd, growing louder and louder.

"You see Toby!" Lucy exclaimed from her position in the centre of it all, ringleader, master of ceremonies. "This is it! This is what has to happen! Time to stand up and be counted! I say we put this to a vote!"

Applause rang out and hush descended.

"Everyone agreed to a vote?" Lucy called out into the silence.

No-one objected. How could they? To do so would be a sign of weakness, a sign that their house was running scared. And reputation had become everything in this castle nowadays.

"Okay then," Lucy smiled. "Those against, raise their hands now."

Elle looked around hopefully. A smattering, more than she had expected but not enough. She raised her hand defiantly. Fuck it, they could call her what they wanted. She didn't care. She glanced at Rufus who unsurprisingly kept his hand down. She knew he had to. After all, Potter and none of the Gryffindor's had raised theirs.

"All in favour?"

Hands. A sea of hands in the air. A sinking feeling in Elle's chest. This was happening then.

"Excellent," Lucy roared above the cheers. "The date is set for Sunday, January the 26th. The house leaders will thrash this out and let the details known. And remember, not a word to the teachers, children. Not a fucking word! May the best house win!"

With a final excited cheer from most and a resigned sigh from the others the room began to empty. And it continued to empty until only Rufus and Elle were left.

"So," Rufus sighed. "What the fuck do I do now?"


	13. Lock the Locks

"_You think it matters what you__'__ve done?__"__ \- Laetitia Patil_

* * *

As the castle buzzed over the next few days with the announcement of the duelling contest, Elle and Scorpius found themselves again apart from it all with more important matters on their minds. As she had suspected, Scorpius had dismissed the idea of representing Slytherin straight away, pretty much laughing in Rufus' face when the Unity leader had approached him. Edwards had not taken it well and had even held back the Ministry blueprints he had been tasked by Teddy Lupin to deliver to them, that is until Scorpius had a 'quiet word'. Elle suspected that the exchange had yielded little conversation judging by Malfoy's smug grin when he had returned blueprints in hand and Edwards' scowl every time she caught his eye. In terms of the duelling contest, Rufus was obviously having to look elsewhere, although her and Malfoy were not getting involved in it at all. Whispers followed them everywhere however, as the speculation grew over who would take part. The tournament would be split into two semi finals and then a final, with Gryffindor facing Hufflepuff in the first semi, and Slytherin facing Ravenclaw in the second. Gryffindor had already confirmed Albus Potter as it's champion but the others were keeping their cards close to their chests. Elle's best guess was that Toby Jones would stand for Hufflepuff and that Ravenclaw would plump for either Lisa Chang or Johnny Baxter. Chang was a first rate sixth year student, always in and around the top marks with a remarkably high average. She was gifted, there was no doubt about it, in fact if she had been born in any other peer group she would have been streaks ahead. Unfortunate then that her direct competitors were some of the most talented wizards the world had seen in a long time. Baxter on the other hand was pretty much the complete opposite of Chang. A troublemaking, for a Ravenclaw anyway, seventh year, who was as unpredictable as he was clever. If Elle was a Ravenclaw, Baxter would be her choice. Chang was brilliant with a book in front of her, could execute a spell perfectly when instructed, but there was no way she could hold her own against Potter or even Jones. Johnny Baxter was a wildcard, but that was precisely what was needed, someone who could surprise, someone unorthodox, someone aggressive, someone who played by different rules.

As for Slytherin, with Scorpius ruling himself out, there was really no-one who could realistically make a decent fist of it. Elle hadn't been approached, despite the fact she was the second best dueller in the house, but that was mainly because Rufus knew that she would have a similar reaction as Malfoy. No way would she step in. She knew she couldn't beat Potter. She could maybe cause him some discomfort, but in the end she would lose and probably lose badly. There was only so far she would go to defend her house. Other candidates were slim on the ground. Of course Rufus wouldn't do it, he knew very well he wasn't capable, and that left only a few options. Melanie Gonzales might have enough to get through the first round, Goyle as well. But Slytherin were going to lose. And to be honest, Elle didn't really care right now. Her and Scorpius had more important things to worry about, not least the fact that they were not going to be able to pull this Ministry job off without an extra pair of hands. 

"You're sure there has to be two of us?" Elle asked desperately. "Could it be done one on the inside, one on the outside?"

"No way. We both need to be in there. Firstly, it's a simple matter of time. We will have a window of seven minutes if we're lucky, not enough time to cover the ground needed. Secondly, I don't know about you but these computer systems look far beyond my hacking abilities."

They had been stupid not to consider the obstacle that had presented itself in the plans Lupin had supplied. Of course the Ministry would have kept up with modern technology, even Muggle. In their own research Elle and Scorpius had discovered evidence that Hermione Granger had been personally responsible for completely overhauling the Ministry's security post war, presumably because of the ease of which she herself had broken into it all those years ago. They were mostly obvious changes that they had seen coming and had prepared for, anti appearance changing wards, wand tracking and the like. What they foolishly hadn't expected was that she would meld Wizarding and Muggle defences. Security cameras, online servers and coded systems had now apparently become prevalent. It was all done so elegantly as well. And that was a big problem.

"Is the great Scorpius Malfoy admitting to a weakness?" Elle mocked.

"Look, give me a month on my own to practice and I could probably do it, but we have a week. No way can I gain the required expertise while also planning every other aspect of the job in that sort of timescale. The annoying thing is, I meant to brush up on this kind of thing last summer. You're right, it is a weakness. One that we both need to address."

"So we need someone else."

"But who?" Scorpius asked. "I'm not going to Lupin. No way. Normally we could just hire someone on retainer but the higher the risk, the greater the cost. And this is as high as it gets. We can't afford it."

Elle thought for a moment.

"Who's that chick that Mickey Bricks uses? You know the fit one with the glasses?" she questioned.

"You mean Hattie Newton? Nah she got sent down last year remember?"

"Fuck, yeah she got caught scamming that casino in Monaco."

"Jobe?" Scorpius put forward.

"Found Jesus when his mother died. Last I heard he was living on some commune predicting the end of the world every other week with some other headcases."

They were both silent for a minute, desperately searching their minds for any contacts they had that were capable enough. As Elle was about to give up, something popped into her brain, a nugget of information that she had thought useless at the time but had obviously kept hold of despite.

"That squib…." she thought out loud. "You know, Laetitia Patil. She was arrested by the Muggles last week for hacking into the London Stock Exchange."

"I read about that. The girls fifteen years old Elle. And she got caught." Scorpius dismissed.

"No, no. It wasn't her fault. She only got caught because the insider she was working with got cold feet and snitched. Seriously she would have got away with millions, billions even. The girls a fucking prodigy."

"You want us to put our faith in a fifteen year old squib with next to no experience?"

"If you've got a better idea then by all means voice it."

Scorpius reached across the table for his packet of cigarettes and promptly lit one.

"This is the biggest job of our lives Elle. The most difficult thing we have ever faced. This is no time to take risks, no time to cut corners. If we get caught then the likelihood is that we won't spend another day as a free man and woman. Laetitia Patil? Really?"

Elle sighed. She knew the truth in his words, knew it was a huge risk, but if he couldn't offer an alternative then what could they do?

"Look," she began plucking the cigarette from his hand that was rested on the table. "She's being held at this young offenders place in London. Holloway I would presume. Half of the older kids where I used to live got carted off there at some point. The social workers used to use it to scare us, telling us all kinds of things about what goes on in there to try and make us go to school, or rat on our friends, whatever. I can break in tonight, take her to your mums place in London and we can see what she can do. If she's not up to it then fine. We go down another route. But right now, today? What else have we got?"

"I don't know…."

"Please, Scorpius," Elle begged. "Just trust me on this one."

She knew he wasn't happy, knew he didn't want this. But she also knew that he had nothing else to offer.

"Fine, do it," he sighed after a long pause. "This job is getting shoddier by the minute. I'm tempted to just put the handcuffs on now."

Elle laughed.

"Hey, fuck it. Blaze of glory and all that."

"More like a fucking whimper. You getting the train back to London later?"

"Scorpius, you taught me to apparate when I was twelve. Why would I be getting the train?"

"To keep me company. Mother is insisting on picking me up from the station for some reason. I was just going to go straight to the house to set things up but she is being quite forceful. Still, I reckon I'll be able to get away from the manor and back to London by about 10."

"Yeah, I'm not getting the train however lonely you may be. I'll meet you at the house with Patil at 11. Set the computers up before we get there. I'm sure even with your limited knowledge you can devise some sort of test for her to see if she's up to the task."

"Of course. You sure you can just break into this place and get her out?" Scorpius asked, slightly concerned.

"Well, if I can't break into a Muggle young offenders institute then you're better off without me in the Ministry. It'll be fine."

"What's your plan?"

"It's a Muggle building Malfoy. I'm just gonna apparate in."

"That easy?"

"Simplicity is our friend."

Malfoy let out a resigned laugh.

"Well then, Azkaban here we come. Or in your case Wormwood Scrubs."

* * *

Elle hung around chain smoking for a bit in the Chamber after Scorpius and everyone else had caught the train back to London to begin their Christmas break. She hated the Hogwarts Express, for her it had been the beginning of all this shit. She pottered around a bit, making some minor changes to a few experimental potions, more for something to do than anything else. At about four in the afternoon she made her way down towards the gates, careful to avoid any teachers or remaining students. As soon as she reached the outskirts of Hogsmeade, she turned on the spot and apparated to West London.

Chelsea to be precise. She appeared with a pop in a grand living area, high ceilings, expensive artwork, lingering privilege. She was in Astoria Malfoy's town house, a building that had become her holiday home over the years. Staying at Hogwarts for any longer than necessary had never appealed to her in the slightest and she had been grateful when Scorpius had suggested this place as a retreat for her. Astoria never came here herself, preferring the even more grandiose manor, but for some reason she had kept hold of it. Elle and Scorpius had had some times here, she grinned nostalgically. Week long parties where the booze never ran dry and the drugs never ran out, the kids of London's moneyed set treating them like Gods as they threw the doors open. Fights and highs, bad sex and mind blowing sex, boys or girls. And quieter times, times of reflection or progress where they would work together on something particularly tricky, never speaking a word but still knowing exactly what to do.

She climbed the stairs to her bedroom which was exactly as she had left it, organised chaos. Went out on the balcony that overlooked the river for a cigarette. She let out a laugh as she looked at the stunning view the winter had to offer. If only they could see her now surrounded by such grandeur, she thought. Her father, her old friends, social workers, teachers. People like her were not supposed to get here. It may only be ten miles away from where she came from, but in London that might as well be a thousand. Before she got too pleased with herself, she turned her mind to tonight's task. She didn't think it would be difficult. Few memory charms, knock out the cameras, get to the front desk, find out the cell number and then get in there. Apparate straight out with Patil. The only thing that was causing her any discomfort was the fact that she was well aware she would probably have to utilise the imperius curse at some point. She liked to avoid unforgivable curses where possible, but no matter. She would do what needed to be done.

* * *

The train rattled along, the constant noise and lurching invading Scorpius Malfoy's brain as he lounged in his compartment. He was alone of course, not many people would dare disturb him. He thought he had seen a flash of red out of the corner of his eye earlier, but it must have been a trick of the light. That or a disappointed Lily Potter, he grinned to himself. It was obvious to him that the youngest Potter had a crush on Eleonora, her constant glances across to their table at meal times were extremely obvious. If she wasn't careful then somebody else would notice and shit would kick off. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly, smoke rings in the air. Three hours in and he was bored. Wished Elle had come with him, he could have bullied her into it probably, but his friend had a problem with the train, more what it represented for her really.

Laetitia Patil he thought. Fucking hell. This had the potential to turn into disaster. He was annoyed at himself for slacking off, he'd spent most of the summer getting off his face with Elle and rich muggle kids instead of bettering himself, putting the work in. He knew he was special, knew he hadn't even began to unlock his own potential yet, but it would all be wasted if he didn't work harder. And it wasn't good for him. Elle wore her anger like a badge, it was there for all to see. He on the other hand mostly kept it inside, festering until the inevitable explosion. He had the potential to scare himself. He needed to be better, needed control. Another lurch, but this time the door sliding open.

"Rufus, can't you see I'm a little busy." he sighed, despite being very much unoccupied.

"Yes, I can see Malfoy," Rufus replied snidely, sliding the door shut behind him and settling down opposite Scorpius. "You look positively overwhelmed."

"We are seeing way too much of each other of late Rufus. Didn't our little chat the other day remind you that I don't appreciate people getting in my way?"

"Yeah about that, I've still got bruises." he shot back, rubbing his arm subconsciously.

"You asked for it Edwards. Don't forget I'm working with you for the time being. Well, obviously I'm dealing a little up your pay scale." Scorpius mocked.

"You all set then?" Rufus asked, ignoring the jibe.

Scorpius just smirked at the boy in front of him.

"Alright, alright. Just be careful. No slip ups." Rufus advised.

"I don't do slip ups. Now if that's all you can piss off now."

Rufus made no move to leave, just held eye contact.

"I'm here to ask you to reconsider." he let out finally.

"Reconsider what? That fucking stupid duel?"

Scorpius closed his eyes and leant back into his seat. He had no interest in this ridiculous charade cooked up by Lucy Weasley. He had nothing to gain from putting himself out there, would just eat into his time.

"Yes."

"Why don't you do it?" Scorpius asked. "Prove that there's more to you than just pretty words."

"I'm self aware enough to know that I stand no chance in the arena." Rufus replied.

"You never know Rufus. You might be able to bore Potter to death with one of your speeches."

"Very funny. Well if there's nothing I can do to change your mind…." Rufus trailed off standing up to leave and reaching for the door handle before pausing.

"Something else?" Scorpius sneered at him.

"Well now that you mention it, actually there is." Rufus turned with a grin on his face that Scorpius didn't like.

"What is it?"

Rufus paused before responding with a question that shook Scorpius to the core.

"What happened on the fifth of November last year?"

Silence. Scorpius felt an unfamiliar sense of panic fill his chest. So aware of his own heartbeat, elevated. Blood coursing through every inch of him. Flashes of memory that he had worked hard to suppress as best he could. A dark room, a piss stained couch, screams and rope.

"Something the matter Malfoy?" Rufus asked lightly, fully aware that he had turned his housemates world upside down.

"That supposed to mean something to me?" Scorpius lied as best he could, but he knew it was hopeless. He had been so careful. How the hell had he found out?

"Now, now Scorpius, didn't your mother teach you not to lie to your friends?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Rufus continued to grin at him.

"What would she do if she found out Scorpius? Not your mother, you know, the other one. What would she say? Would she be grateful? Angry?"

Scorpius remained silent.

"I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to stand for this house. You're going to step into the ring and you're going to win. Because if you don't, then I'll tell her. I'll tell them all."

Scorpius erupted in a flash. Slammed Rufus against the glass, pinned him by the throat, wand digging into the boys stomach.

"You think you can threaten me?" he hissed.

Rufus choked out a laugh.

"Gonna do it again Scorpius?" he strained over the pressure on his throat. "Tell me how did it feel? Did it feel good? Like you're invincible? Well you're not. I see you Malfoy."

It took all of his control to release Edwards and turn from him, hands shaking.

Rufus Edwards cleared his throat.

"Yeah I fucking see you for what you really are," he whispered. "I know what you did."

* * *

At exactly half past 10, Eleonora apparated into the small cell with a pop. It had been even easier than she had thought it would be to gain the required information, she had even avoided using the imperius curse. Just a few cloaking spells and memory charms and here she was. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she began to make out a figure leant casually against the back of the small single bed.

"About time too," a high pitched girls voice spoke. "It's been a week. Ministry is getting sloppier and sloppier."

"Lumos." Elle muttered, instantly illuminating the room and revealing a rounded dark skinned girl with thick rimmed glasses.

"Little young to be Law Enforcement aren't you?" Laetitia Patil frowned at her, taking in her appearance.

"Who said I was Law Enforcement?" Elle asked.

"Who else you gonna be? Don't worry, I've kept to the statute, yada yada."

"I'm not Law Enforcement Laetitia."

"Oh yeah?" Patil narrowed her eyes. "Auror then? God they start them young these days. You look about thirteen. Is that why you've been given this shitty job? Getting squibs out of Muggle prison, hardly the most glamorous of assignments."

"Not an Auror either."

"Come on, stop playing with me. Let's just get this over with. But as soon as we get to Azkaban I want to call my lawyer. I don't trust the Wizengamot on this kind of thing. Ignorant fuckers know nothing about Muggle crime."

"I'm not an Auror. I'm not Law Enforcement. I'm here with a proposal."

"This a trick?" she asked suspiciously. "My mother send you? God that fucking bitch. Ever since I didn't get my letter she's hated me. Hasn't even tried to visit me. You here in her place to disown me fully?"

"Never met your mother Laetitia. I'm here because of what you can do." Elle said.

"And what can I do?"

Elle laughed before replying.

"Let's just say we require someone with your skill set for a job."

"Who are you?"

"Until you agree, then that is irrelevant." Elle snapped, growing impatient.

"Well then, we are destined to forever remain strangers," Laetitia replied, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. "The Ministry will be here for me soon, I'll beat the charge and then I'll be back out in the world again."

"Really?" Elle questioned in a sceptical tone. "As you said, it's been a week and yet still you rot in here. I think they've forgotten about you Laetitia. The problem of a squib. Straddling two worlds, but never belonging in either."

"Shut up!" Laetitia exploded. "Fuck you and all you fucking pricks."

"Yes, yes, fuck me, all that." Elle dismissed.

"Yeah and fuck the Ministry! If they won't come for me then others will. I hacked into the London Stock Exchange! One of the most secure systems in the world. I could have made billions if it wasn't for human error. That sort if thing doesn't go un-noticed. I'll have job offers coming out of my arse when I get out of here. MI5, CIA, private security firms, they're all going to want me! I get paid whatever!"

Elle looked at the angry girl and couldn't help but think that Scorpius had been right. She'd spent less than five minutes in the girls company and she already knew her. Laetitia was petulant, angry, strangely sweet, sarcastic, funny, ridiculous, small minded, arrogant. Basically she was a teenage girl. And why shouldn't she be? She should have turned on the spot and disappeared there and then, but she didn't for some reason. Because there was something there that she liked. And they needed that something right now.

"You're a criminal now Laetitia," Elle explained to her as soothingly as she could. "You're going to serve serious time for this. What you did, to them it's serious."

Laetitia laughed but it didn't reach her eyes.

"You think it matters what you've done?" she mocked. "No. If you have something that they want, then they'll use it, whatever your sins. Half of the secret service is made up of criminals, fucking murderers and hackers and god knows what else."

"And that's what you want is it?" Elle questioned. "You want to be under their thumb for the rest of your life? Your freedom being held over you by some faceless suit who'd drop you in an instant if he thought it would benefit him? That's the life you want?"

There was a pause as they both heard footsteps outside the cell, walking down the corridor.

"Muffliato." she murmured, pointing her wand in the direction of the door.

"How old are you?" Laetitia questioned from out of nowhere.

"Does it matter?" Elle countered

"More than you know." Laetitia shot back mysteriously.

"I'm 16," Elle sighed. "Now, what do you say? Come with me and do this job and I can erase your record, make you disappear from all their systems. I can give you total freedom. If you stay here then your life won't be your own anymore."

Laeitita was silent, weighing up her options.

"What's the job?" she finally asked.

"Next Tuesday, you me and a friend are going to break into the Ministry of Magic." Elle stated baldy.

And for the first time in their brief acquaintance, Laetitia Patil broke out in a broad grin and then took hold of Elle's arm.

"Why didn't you just say that earlier?"


	14. Laetitia Patil

"_Ready?" - Scorpius Malfoy_

* * *

"Finished." Laetitia Patil sang.

Eleonora walked over to where she was sat in front of three computer screens in Astoria Malfoy's London townhouse drawing room.

"In three minutes? Come on Laetitia, stop fucking around." Elle chided.

"Look," Patil smirked spinning the screen around to show Elle. "A million galleons from Draco Malfoy's account straight into his sons, a list of all current Unspeakables and the location of every undercover agent that the Law Enforcement has currently out in the field. Oh and I also updated my twitter and facebook with a video of that fat Chinese kid dancing. You seen it? It's soooo fucking funny."

And with that Laetitia leant back in her chair and looked around casually. Elle was impressed, but there was something nagging at her. Malfoy wasn't helping matters either. He had barely said a word to either when they had arrived, just curtly explaining his test to Laetitia before disappearing into the corner with a pack of cigarettes.

"Oi, Malfoy!" Elle shouted across the room at him. "You sure you made this hard enough? She's done it already."

"Well then, she has passed." he replied without looking up, going back to his brooding.

"Is he always like that?" Laetitia whispered conspiratorially.

"Miserable fucker you mean? Not always, but a good chunk of the time."

"It's kind of hot don't you think?" Laetitia breathed back. "So dark and mysterious…."

"We're here to work Laetitia. Stop acting your age." Elle snapped back.

"Calm down, calm down. I'm not into stealing other peoples boyfriends anyway."

"He's not my boyfriend." Elle said wearily.

"No? I just assumed. Anyway as you said we're here to work. So am I in?" Laetitia asked hopefully.

"Me and Scorpius will have a talk now and decide. Go back to the computer, steal some more virtual money or whatever it is you do for fun and we'll be back in a minute."

"Make sure you discuss my fee as well!" Laetitia called to her retreating figure.

Elle walked over to Scorpius, grabbed him by the arm, hoisting him up, and dragged him to the massive kitchen which was still full of empty bottles and drug paraphernalia from the summer. Ah, easier times. She hopped up onto a clean space of kitchen counter and looked at her friend in front of her.

"Right, what the fuck is wrong?" she questioned. "100% focus, that's what you've been drilling into me for the last week, and now you're miles away at a crucial time in the plan."

"I'm right here," Scorpius responded, running a hand through his hair. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not. Is it your mum?"

"My mum?" Scorpius asked, confused.

"Yeah, did she say something when she picked you up today?"

Scorpius continued to look at her with a confused, slightly glazed expression for a couple of seconds before he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"My mother, yes," he replied, sounding more alert. "You know how she can be."

"Unfortunately I've had more than enough dealings with your mother to know she is a grade A bitch." Elle said, angrier than she had meant to sound.

Her and Astoria had never got along, the woman was always going on to Scorpius about 'that awful muggle girl' he spent all his time with. Draco Malfoy was better, he seemed to tolerate her and she could have sworn she had occasionally seen a hint of a smirk on his face whenever she'd sent some veiled barbs in his wife's direction.

"She may well be, but she's still my mother Elle." Scorpius sighed.

"What did she say that's got to you then?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it…" Scorpius trailed off

"Malfoy…"

"It's nothing, really. Just drop it Elle. I'm sorry, you're right I need to focus. You say she just passed those tests in three minutes?" he questioned, his tone brisk and businesslike all of a sudden.

Elle was reluctant to let the matter of why he was acting so strange die, but she knew they had to get on with this.

"Yeah, she breezed them. You sure they were difficult enough?"

"I'm sure. Looks like you were right then. The girls a fucking protégé."

"Yeah, she is." Elle frowned slightly.

"Something wrong?"

"I dunno," Elle lowered her voice in preparation to tell what had been bothering her about the Patil girl. "It's not just that she's a potential liability or anything, I mean she obviously is but we can't do anything about that. It's just… It was too easy you know? Getting her to come with I mean. One minute she was all defensive and uncooperative, the next she was all eager fucking beaver. Might just be what she's like I suppose, but it just didn't sit right and it still doesn't."

"She just changed her mind like that?" Scorpius clicked his fingers.

"Pretty much, well no, she asked me….."

"I asked you how old you are," Laetitia interrupted and both Elle and Scorpius spun around to see her standing in the doorway. "That's what changed my mind. Well, that and I recognized you. It took me a while, I wasn't even sure when I came with you, you've changed your hair colour, but now I'm here, I'm sure."

"What are you talking about?" Elle asked, confused.

"I've been here before," Laetitia began, idly strolling around the room, occasionally picking things up to look at as she continued. "This house, last summer. This muggle me and a few other hackers had been working, my first job actually, kid of a rich investment banker in the City, he told me about this place. 'Wild stuff kid, wild stuff' he used to say. Fucking twat even talked like a prick. But the score was _so _sweet and this kid was so close to just literally giving me everything I needed. I called him one night to close the net and he said he was here so I came. Knew it was a Wizarding house the second I walked in but man was he right. Wild. A fourteen year old walking into that?"

"You came to one of those parties when you were fourteen?" Scorpius asked tensely.

"Yeah," Laetitia laughed. "As soon as I walked in, I knew it wasn't my scene. I'm more of a stay home with the wifi on a Friday night type. Yeah I didn't stay long, the score went bad anyway. But I remember turning to leave and then I saw you two. Obviously wizards to anyone who knew. You were sat on that couch over there, draped over each other, couldn't tell who's limbs were who's. I watched you for about five minutes. You were ignoring everyone around you, communicating with laughs, mumbled shouts, your own language. It was so strange you know? Two people surrounded by people but so alone together. So close. I've never had that you see…"

Elle glanced at Scorpius, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, it left an impression on me so I asked around. Soon got the name Malfoy. You're quite a celebrity in certain circles you know? The things you can do, they say. I have a brother at Hogwarts who's pretty in awe of you you know? And then when you came in my cell tonight Eleonora you did magic. At sixteen. Muggle prisons are the most heavily magic monitored places by the Ministry in the country. You must be the only two people alive who have figured out a way to completely and totally beat The Trace. And then I knew. Knew it was you I saw that night. You just stuck with me. And that's why I want in. I'm a fucking squib. I'll never be able to do what you can, but I want to be the best at what I can do. And this is clearly the place to be to achieve that, because I think you two want the same thing."

Laetitia turned round, eyes downcast as she faced back to them.

"It's like you said Elle. I just want to feel like I'm needed. Like I belong somewhere. So I want in."

There was silence around the room. Elle felt a wave of affection for the younger girl who now looked so small. Gone was the brash demeanour, the arrogance of before. She was just a lost kid and Elle knew how that felt. Every single day. She looked over at Scorpius who was as inscrutable as ever. He was rarely moved by things such as this. He had no friends outside of Elle, no family he could tolerate for more than five minutes. He didn't like people. Therefore she was surprised when he walked over to Laetitia and raised her chin with his forefinger, looking straight at her.

"You're in Laetitia," he smiled. "Just do me a favour and cut the emotional shit out."

Laetitia let out a laugh and saluted him.

"Right, you're the boss."

"Okay then," Scorpius clapped his hands together. "We have a lot to do."

And all of a sudden, there was three.

* * *

Of course, it was soon Monday night, sooner than any of them wanted it to be. Tomorrow was the day. The three of them were sat in the lounge, each lost in their own thoughts. Elle had been going over the plan out loud for the thousandth before Scorpius and Laetitia had begged her to stop, pointing out that if they didn't know it by now then there was no way they would get it by tomorrow night. Elle glanced up from her thoughts to see Laetitia nervously shuffling a deck of cards. All in all she had fit in nicely. There had been a bit of an issue when she had gone with Scorpius, leaving Elle behind, to place a tracker on the Ministry's off site server and had almost been caught by a security guard, but it was nothing a memory charm couldn't fix. And if all went to plan, Laetitia would not set foot anywhere near the Ministry, all her work could be done remotely.

Elle sighed and lit a cigarette. Had thought about a spliff but when she had suggested it to Malfoy he had said something about keeping a clear mind. Boring fucker. He was currently sat cross legged in front of the far wall, eyes closed, occasionally muttering incomprehensible things under his breath. It was magic that was far beyond Elle's capabilities but she could recognize it all the same. The most advanced wards and concealments. He still didn't seem right to her though, but she was putting it down to the stress of what they were about to do. Hopefully, if it went right then it would put an end to their problems, because although it remained unspoken, both her and Scorpius believed that they would get all their answers tomorrow, whether they found anything in the Ministry or not.

"Shit," Laetitia exclaimed, cards scattered on the floor all around her. "I can't stand this waiting. Come on, let's go out and do something."

"I am not going to see Les Miserables with you." Elle sneered. Laetitia had indeed attempted to persuade her to go the other day.

"Why not?" Laetitia pouted. "It'll take our mind off things, cheer us up."

"You think a musical where pretty much everyone dies and the police win in the end will take our minds off things and cheer us up?" Scorpius interjected dryly from across the room.

"Cats?" Laetitia changed tack hopefully.

"No fucking musicals." Elle groaned.

"It might be good to get out though," Scorpius said getting up. "We're not going to get anything constructive done at this late stage and sitting here isn't helping. Just caught myself second guessing on a detail that was absolutely fine to begin with."

"What do we do then?"

"Well what do you guys normally do for fun?" Laetitia asked.

Elle and Scorpius looked at each other.

"To be honest are main hobbies are stealing shit and getting fucked up."

"Okaaay," Laetitia drawled out. "Let's keep it PG tonight yeah?"

"There's a Gaudi exhibition opening tonight in Hammersmith," Scorpius mused, looking a his watch. "We can just about make it if we leave now."

Laetitia just looked a him.

"A Gaudi exhibition?," she said incredulous. "I asked what you did for fun."

"What's wrong with getting a bit of culture in your life?" Scorpius asked.

"Jesus Christ, no wonder you two don't have any friends. You want to spend possibly your last evening as a free man and woman at a fucking Gaudi exhibition?"

"When she puts it like that, it is a bit sad." Elle laughed.

"Too fucking right it is. Come on, it's nearly Christmas. I've got an idea." Laetitia said pushing Scorpius towards the front door.

* * *

As Elle fell down onto the ice painfully for the third time in a minute, she cursed herself for bring Laetitia Patil into their lives. Ice skating? This was meant to be fun? Admittedly it had been funny to see Malfoy's face of utter contempt when Laetitia, grinning like a kid a Christmas, had revealed where they were going to be spending their evening. An ice rink optimistically titled 'Winter Wonderland', what was so wonderful about it Elle had no idea. To be fair though, it had taken her mind of tomorrow, mainly due to the pain in her body after falling so many times. Probably wasn't a good idea to risk broken limbs they day before they most needed them but fuck it.

She gingerly skated to the exit and unstrapped her skates, settling down on a bench overlooking the rink. Scorpius, as elegant as ever, caught her eye and glided across the rink to settle down next to her. They were both quiet for a while, occasionally laughing as Laetitia crashed into some small children. The girl had clearly never done this before, but there was such childish enthusiasm in her actions that it couldn't help but bring a smile to the face.

"What's wrong Scorpius?" Elle asked quietly, breaking the silence. "I know there's something up with you."

Scorpius closed his eyes and tipped his head back, the silence continuing to the extent that Elle thought he was just going to ignore her.

"You're right," he said finally. "I will tell you Elle, one day I promise, but not right now. Can we please pretend that just for tonight we're ordinary fucking people. Not wizards or thieves or geniuses or Slytherin's. Just normal. Please."

Elle reached over and grasped his hand, squeezing gently.

"Ok," she said soothingly. "Just for tonight."

They stayed like that for a while, hand in hand, two ordinary people.

"OOOOO! Hand holding!" Laetitia's obnoxious voice interrupted after a while as she appeared from nowhere. "Elle and Scorpius sitting in a tree K.I.S…"

She was interrupted by having to duck as Elle threw one of her skates at her.

"Hey watch it," Laetitia laughed, throwing the skate back at Elle who strapped it back on. "Look if you two want some privacy, just tell me. You two are just so adorable…"

"Jesus. We're friends Patil." Elle scoffed.

"As in like friends with benefits?" she asked cheekily.

"That's it , one more comment and I'm gonna push you right across this rink." Elle said, trying to sound annoyed but given away by her slight smile.

"So you can get some alone time with Mr Lover Man?"

"You asked for it Patil."

Scorpius watched with a smile as the two girls participated in the most clumsy and slow chase of all time, eventually collapsing on top of each other in a heap on the ice, laughing all the way.

* * *

"It's time."

Laetitia nodded, nervously.

"You'll be fine." Elle said, pulling her into a brief hug. "It's all set up. When we're done, get out quickly. Get yourself onto the underground and wait for us at the apparition point okay?"

Laetitia nodded again, managing a brief smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Don't mess around with those ear pieces," she said to both Elle and Scorpius. "They fall out then you're blind."

"We won't." Scorpius affirmed.

"Well then. See you in Azkaban." Laetitia attempted to joke before leaving out the front door.

Silence befell the two friends remaining, and neither spoke for the half an hour that was left for them to wait.

The clock struck half past four and they looked at each other.

"Ready?"

"No."

"Let's do it."


	15. Speedway

_'Life's just one long cigarette break' - Eleonora_ _Jago_

* * *

Elle and Scorpius apparated into a deserted office building, quickly getting over the notorious disorientated feeling that came after apparation and heading out onto the street. They moved rapidly through the pre rush hour crowds, dodging and weaving their way through whilst remaining close. They soon reached their destination and ducked into an alley just off the main street. Scorpius checked his watch and touched his ear.

"Laetitia, you there?" he asked, the mike hidden in his collar picking his words up.

"…._Jesus, this place is a shit hole Malfoy_," they both heard come back through their earpieces. Laetitia was set up around a quarter of a mile away in a disused and neglected factory. "_Rats everywhere man. You in position already?_"

"Yeah."

"_Alright, well you__'__ve still got 10 minutes till the go so entertain yourselves_."

Scorpius took out his pack of cigarettes, offering it to Elle. They both lit up and waited. Elle checking her disguise in a compact. Obviously polyjuice had been out of the question, as had any appearance changing spells as they would have been picked up on by security. Instead, they had gone for basic, subtle approaches. Anyone who knew them well would have little trouble recognizing her and at a push Malfoy, although they had been more thorough with him due to his resemblance to his minor celebrity father. Muggle make up, hair dye, simple stuff really. But good enough.

After what seemed like seconds, Laetitia's voice returned accompanied by the faint sound of quick fire typing.

"_Okay then gang, all set. He__'__s coming past your position in five, four, three_…."

Scorpius stepped out of the alley in front of a small, wiry man in overalls.

"You got the time mate?" he asked the man.

As the man looked down at his watch, Scorpius stepped up quickly, shoving him into the alleyway where Elle was waiting, wand drawn.

"Imperio." she whispered and watched as the mans eyes glazed slightly over. Scorpius quickly patted the man down, soon finding what he was looking for, a Ministry of Magic staff pass identifying the man as Trevor Mott, head of Ministry Maintenance. A duplicate charm and a few adjustments later and both Scorpius and Elle had their very own access to the Ministry cards.

"Right, make sure he keeps still Elle." Scorpius said pointing his wand at Trevor Mott and steadying himself.

The process of implanting false memories into someones brain was an extremely tricky and dangerous one, but they hadn't been able to think of any other way. Even at the maintenance entrance of the Ministry, which is where they planned to infiltrate, powerful wards were set up that would detect in an instant anyone under the influence of imperius curse. Therefore they had to trick Mott into believing they were colleagues this way.

"Done.. I think." Scorpius said after about two minutes. It was testament to the difficulty of the magic that even Malfoy was unsure if it had worked.

"You sure? I lift this and there's no going back."

Scorpius looked at her.

"I'm sure. Do it."

Elle lifted the curse and watched as the mans eyes slotted back into focus. Waited with baited breath.

"Ey up?" he began in a broad northern accent. "What are we doing down 'ere then? That ceiling won't fix itself you know."

It had worked. Trevor Mott cheerily stepped out of the alley and began to stroll casually towards their destination. Scorpius and Elle made to follow, Elle holding out her fist for a subtle bump.

"_Fist bumping__'__s fucking gay.__"_they heard Laetitia snort over their earpieces, obviously in full control of muggle CCTV.

"Silence unless fucking necessary Laetitia." Scorpius muttered annoyed.

"_Trust, it was necessary if I__'__m gonna hang out with you_."

"Patil!" Scorpius warned, slightly louder than meant, Trevor Mott picking up on it.

"What was that chap?" he questioned, slowing down to match their pace.

"Nothing, sorry, just stubbed my toe." Scorpius recovered.

"Aye man up boy…"

"_Yeah man up Scorpius you pussy.__"_

"…you're sounding as bad as those Ministry soft touches we have to keep from breaking everything in sight. What is it you're coming in to fix for them again?"

"Ceiling on the third floor," Elle replied, still hiding a chuckle at Laetitia. "Been jumping between showers of rain, fire and piss. Literal piss."

Trevor gave a snort.

"That's right, I remember now, Mark and his brother on holiday and none of our lot could do anything about it," he nodded sagely, referring to the two blokes who would normally handle such situations but had conveniently won a surprise holiday in Spain and the very real ceiling problem that unbeknownst to him had been planted there by a Unity spy in the Ministry. "And these are the people that are in charge. How you s'posed to fix a country if you can't fix a leaky pipe?"

"Beats the hell out of me," Scorpius replied, breeding familiarity through the age old trick of agreeing with everything the other says. "Couldn't organize a piss up in a brewery this lot we got running things."

"_Scorpius Malfoy, voice of the working man, coming from his 300 acre estate in Wiltshire__…__..__"_

Trevor laughed loudly, masking a snort from Elle. Laetitia was going to get them blown at this rate.

"Aye, you right boy. Useless tossers the lot of 'em and don't get me started on that ginger Weasley fella. Don't get me wrong, I hate the dark arts as much as the rest and I got no love for most of them Syltherin's but it ain't right all this nonsense. The locking 'em up and all that, not giving them a chance. Course you ain't supposed to say stuff like that these days, people think you're siding with those other nutters. Unity innit? Nah, that'll turn to shit just like it always does. Just gotta get on with things I guess. I'm too old to cause too much trouble anyhow. Just like to keep 'em on their toes you know?"

"Yeah, they need a little shit every now and again," Elle grinned. "But we just keep our heads down and leave the politics for the higher ups."

"No use us getting involved," Trevor nodded. "I do my work and go home to the wife, no drama, leave that for you younger folks."

"Oh, we don't get involved in much drama." Scorpius cut in, Elle could hear the smirk in his voice.

"And you'll be the 'appier for it, mark me words," Trevor said, oblivious. "What did you say you were here to fix again?"

Elle looked across at Scorpius worriedly after the repetition of the question. It was always a danger that the implanted memories wouldn't hold, wouldn't fully integrate and sink in. It was never an exact science when it came to the brain, even with magic.

"Ceiling on the third floor remember?" she said, hoping repetition would suffice.

"Ceiling on the third floor you say? Where's Mark then?" he asked, his expression dangerously confused.

"Holiday in Spain remember?" Scorpius said firmly. "You owled the agency and here we are."

Trevor looked confused for a moment more before relaxing much to their relief.

"Of course, excuse an old man won't you? Getting bloody senile in me old age. Not even 60 yet and forgetting things left right and centre. The wife thinks I'm going crackers sometimes."

"Ah, you know what women are like," Scorpius grinned at him, Elle grit her teeth. "Always worrying 'bout something."

"Aye lad, you ain't wrong," Trevor chuckled. "No offence love." he directed at Elle, who was biting her tongue. She was just starting to like him as well…..

"_Hey Malfoy the 1950s called, they want their opinions back.__"_

Elle glanced across at Scorpius, giving him a smirk. They took a left off the main road and found themselves in a deserted car park.

"Come on then," Trevor beckoned and they followed him across to three large skips hidden from sight behind a fence. "Your first time at the Ministry?"

"Yeah, we do house calls normally, boggarts, nargles that kind of thing." Elle replied, opening the lid of the bin for Trevor to climb in.

"Living the dream," he chuckled. "Now, once I've closed the lid, give it 10 seconds then follow me down, same with you."

And with one last grin in slammed the lid down on himself, cocooning himself in the plastic container. They felt the bin shudder slightly, confirming that he had gone down into the depths of the Ministry. Scorpius immediately touched his earpiece.

"As amusing as you are Laetitia, one more comment and it won't be Azkaban you've gotta worry about…"

"_Relax Malfoy__…"_

"He's right Laetitia, no more fun and games." Elle cut in.

"_Alright, alright,_ _jesus_," she replied. _"__Now you two just climb in that bin like nice tramps__…__.__"_

"Fucking hell." Malfoy sighed as he climbed in, disappearing leaving Elle to wait the ten seconds before following him.

* * *

She emerged in a large chamber, not as grand as the atrium by any stretch but still an impressive sight. A large statue of a man with a wand in one hand and a hammer in the other stood imposingly in the centre. Wizards and witches in overall robes rushed around, most in the direction of the elevators where they crammed themselves in or spilled out onto the main floor in droves. Just before 5, people beginning there shifts and those in a rush to finish them. She was looking at all this from behind a sort of translucent wall, the wards that they would have to walk through. Elle shook herself from her observations and made her way towards the front desk where Malfoy and Trevor were stood waiting, chatting to the desk guard on duty.

"Evening Trevor," he was saying, "And who have we got with us today?"

"Couple of agency workers 'ere to fix that ceiling on the third floor," he replied. "I got a team of fourty and none of the useless little shits could do it so I had to call out."

The guard looked at the two of them a little suspiciously.

"Let me just check the memos, I can't just let anyone up you know."

"Go right ahead," Scorpius invited casually, fiddling with his cigarette packet that he had taken out of his pocket and was spinning on the counter top. "The shift manager sent down a Wiz Mail this morning apparently."

The guard swivelled in his chair and began tapping at his computer. The three of them stood waiting, a picture if nonchalance. It was taking too long Elle thought. Had Laetitia not done her job? Was she not as good as they had thought? The fears proved unfounded however when the guard let out a "here we go" and turned back to them.

"Yep, all in order. Now we just got to weigh your wands and your all set. It's standard procedure for all first timers."

"You mind if I leave you two to it?" Trevor asked. "I gotta crack on."

"Course," Elle replied. "We'll send a message when we're done. I'm sure we can find our own way out."

Trevor left with a final smile, he had served his purpose, and walked through the shimmering wall before disappearing, slightly distorted to their eyes, towards the elevators.

"Alright then, if I could have your wands please, it should only take a minute, and if you don't mind emptying your pockets and putting the items in the trays." the guard requested.

Scorpius and Elle reached into their robes and pulled out their wands, handing them over, before emptying their pockets. Just standard stuff, chewing gum, keys, things a Maintenance wizard would have. The guard waved his wand over the trays, nodding to say there was nothing untoward and then turned his attention to the wands. It took only a few seconds.

"Standard agency wands, yep. Registered to a Mrs Bairclough. They still don't trust you to use your own?" he laughed.

"Tell me about it," Elle faux sighed. "A few robberies all those years ago and still we have to use these pieces of shit. Built in spell trackers so they know we're only doing what we're supposed to."

"Well, can't have you stealing Ministry secrets can we," the guard chuckled, Elle and Scorpius laughing along with him. "On you go then. Best of luck."

Elle and Scorpius nodded and made towards the security wall, the reason they couldn't use polyjuice etc. These were the most powerful security wards in the world, but they had one flaw, one loophole that was about to be exploited. Just as they walked up to it, Scorpius turned round to adress the guard.

"Shit, sorry mate, forgot my fags." he gestured to the counter where he had left them.

"They'll kill you you know." the guard admonished before using his wand to levitate them over.

"Life's just one long cigarette break mate." Elle grinned rakishly, making the guard laugh before turning back to his duties.

They walked through the ward, freezing for a moment before coming out the other side. They were in. The worry had been that the earpieces may get picked up on, but it wasn't uncommon for maintenance wizards to wear headsets so they had taken the risk and it had paid off. They strolled across towards an empty elevator, entering it, pressing the third floor button, and waiting for the doors to close.

"We're in." Elle let Laetitia know whilst Scorpius opened the cigarette packet, pulling out their real wands. He had purposefully left it on the counter, so they wouldn't be checked along with their other items. Then was the reliance on the guard not giving it a second thought and giving it back without checking. They had to have their own wands inside, their magic had to be at full capacity, and you couldn't get around the wand weighing system. If they'd have handed their own over they would have been exposed immediately as Scorpius Malfoy and Eleonora Jago. Luckily, outside agencies often used uniform wands for the reasons Elle had talked about earlier, so they knew with a bit of slight of hand they could get in. And the ward wall had no in built method of detecting wands, because it had no need to, the wand weighing was supposed to deal with that.

"You in control of the cameras L?" Elle asked.

"_Yep, looks like no real problems. Evening briefings starting in two so the way should be as clear as it will be tonight."_

"Good," Scorpius replied. "Let's go then."

They waited briefly in the elevator, fortunate that no-one on the other levels got on with them. The less people they came into contact with the better.

"Level Three." a tinned voice boomed and with a ding the doors slid open.

"Good luck." Scorpius murmured, taking a left turn into the depths of the law enforcement department. He was going to the file room where the physical copies that Unity were after would be guarded by the more advanced wards and security. He was probably one of only a handful of people in the world with the capability of getting passed them. Elle on the other hand took a right, heading towards the main hub of the auror office where she would need to isolate one computer and let Laetitia do her magic. It was the more risky task due to the fact that it would bring her within close proximity of the Auror team on duty, but no way could she have got passed the file room wards.

"_Okay, Scorpius your way is clear, use the route planned. Elle you're going to have to take a bit of a detour, four hostiles in the way. Carry on straight down to the end of the corridor, take the first left then the second right and wait for instruction."_

"Roger." Elle responded doing as her oversight eyes told her. Her body was buzzing with nerves and excitement, a sensation that no drink, drug or lay had ever given her. This was what being alive was. So alive right now.

"_Shit Malfoy, sharp right, sharp right!_" she heard in her ear.

"_Got it."_ he responded.

"Everything alright?" Elle asked a moment later as she reached the end of her instructions.

"_Fine,_" Scorpius responded. "_Don't panic Laetitia, you have to keep calm_."

"_Yep, yep, sorry. Okay, you're good, two hostiles passed, but keep quiet they're in a room right next to you with the door open. Elle, go through the double doors straight ahead and it's on the right. The long way rounds not so long after all."_

Elle crept up to the double doors, opening them a crack just to check before slipping through, taking care to shut them gently before taking a right, coming to a halt outside another set of doors that read 'Auror Office'.

"You sure no-ones in there L?" she whispered, the buzz at its height.

"_They're all in Weasley's office now. Intelligence says the briefings usually last 15 minutes so you have seven from now. Move!"_

"Easy for you to say." Elle muttered darkly. She steeled herself, got ready to take the plunge, coiled up inside and pushed open the door to reveal a vast open planned office space. No sign of life, just the hum of the artificial, computers and air con. She tuned out Laetitia who was giving Malfoy instructions and moved quick as a feline over to a desk on the left hand side of the room, the one most well hidden.

"Laetitia, I'm here."

"_Okay, Malfoy you're on your own. You got three minutes to get those defences down. Elle open the menu and select the computer file."_

Elle did as she was told, bringing up the relevant file.

"_Good, now plug the device I gave you into the second slot down at the back._"

She crouched over the computer, feeling around at the back before finding her target. Plugged the device Laetitia had gave her in and watched as the screen began to flicker, turning into a full on light show after a couple of seconds, jumping between blue, green and red in the blink of an eye.

"This normal?" she asked under her breath.

"_Quiet!" _Laetitia responded shortly and Elle could hear the faint tapping of the keyboard before the screen turned black with lines of green code running and running along the screen.

"_We're good. Two minutes and I'll have everything downloaded. Sit tight."_

10 seconds. Twenty seconds. Elle glanced towards where she knew fifteen Aurors were all sitting oblivious just twenty feet away. Thirty seconds….. One minute. One minute thirty.

"_I'm done. I'll sort the ceiling and then I'm out." _she heard Scorpius in her ear. God he was good. The wards could only have taken him a minute to break or even less. Her pride in her friend however was secondary to the heart thumping in her chest right now. One minute fifty, one minute fifty five…. Voices. Loud voices, a turning door handle.

"Shit."

* * *

Elle flung herself under the desk as the Aurors spilled out onto the office floor, laughing and joking, serious conversations and more laughter.

"Laetitia!" Elle breathed, begging for an escape that she though was impossible.

"_Stay put. 10 seconds, come on, come on you fucker! Yes! Elle, you're going to hear a bang. I'm going to blow up a computer the other side of the office. You can't make it to the main door so you see the door about 45 degrees from your position?" . _Elle looked across and saw it._ "I don't know where it goes, it's not on the blueprints, but it's our only hope. Keep your wand out, anything could be on the other side. When you hear that bang, you get the memory stick out and run to that. You fucking run."_

Elle swallowed. Never had she been so frightened. Never in all her life. Keep calm. Keep calm. Footsteps getting closer before stopping just in front of where she was hidden, could see the shiny shoes from underneath the desk.

"_Wait… They've stopped."_

"Can't wait mate," the unmistakeable arrogance of James Potter reached her ears. "We'll see how long this Unity march stays peaceful. Hopefully we'll see some action and get to finally crack some heads."

"All sounds like too much hassle to me." another voice complained.

"Come on Grayson, it's what we've been waiting for. I didn't join the Aurors to sit at a desk all day."

"_Ready? Three, two, one, go!"_

There was a loud bang over towards the other side of the office, loud enough for every head to turn. Elle just trusted to blind faith, stood up. Yanked the memory stick out and ran, just waiting for the stunner in the back that she was sure was coming… nothing. She reached the door and slipped through quietly, her quick glance back showing everyone huddled around something the other side of the office. She shut the door gently, encasing herself in darkness.

"Fuck, fuck." she whispered, blood coursing through her. Could feel her pulse straining through her neck, surely loud enough for the whole Ministry to hear. But she had to stay calm.

"_Elle… ELLE!" _Scorpius panicked in her ear.

Elle's eyes had adjusted to the dark. Quills, parchment. She realised that she was in the fucking stationary cupboard.

"It's a stationary cupboard," Elle laughed desperately. "A fucking stationary cupboard. Oh Jesus."

"_I'm sorry… I didn't know…." _Laetitia said quietly

"I'm done, I'm fucking done…" Elle stuttered.

"_Do something Laetitia!" _Scorpius raged.

_"I don't know, I don't know..."_

"No, no it's not her fault. It's not your fault Laetitia, you did what you could." Elle sighed. She was resigned to it. It was amazing how quickly it had happened, how quickly hope could disappear.

"_I'm coming to get you._" Scorpius said wildly.

"Don't be stupid Scorp."

"_I'm coming. Take them by surprise. We can take them, fight our way out." _he pleaded desperately.

Elle felt her heart swell for him. She knew he would do it. But even he had no chance. She laughed quietly.

"Don't be ridiculous Scorpius. Where are you?"

"_I'm at the entrance, but I'm coming back."_

"No you're not." she said firmly. "You're going to walk out those doors now and then you're going to run. Once they catch me, they'll come for you. I won't tell them anything but they'll know. Run as far as you can. Please just do it. For me.

"_Elle_…." he choked out. "_I'm so sorry for everything_. _I'll make this right…._"

"Go!"

"_No! No._" Laetitia's voice came to her as she was steeling herself to walk out the door and face her fate.

"It's fine Laetitia. Just go."

"_No! Just wait…." _Elle heard the tapping of the keyboard again.

"_Malfoy, you go now. The alarms are about to sound. Elle, I'm gonna do something now. I'm gonna hack into their mainframe and leave a trace. It'll take them a minute to crack and discover my location and then they'll all come for me. When you hear that first crack of apparation, you know the ward has been lifted and you're free to apparate out. Malfoy, put a memory charm on the security guard on the way out so you're forgotten and then go. I'll meet you at the apparation point."_

"No way, you won't get out in time." Elle hissed.

"_Nothing you can do now. Three, two, one. FUCK YOU MUM!"_

Shouts from behind the door, the crackle of scores of computers being messed with. Hurried directions, swearwords and finally a yell of triumph. A crack. Elle span on the spot. She was free.

* * *

As soon as she appeared she was engulfed in arms, crushing her bones. Kisses feathered her head. Malfoy.

"Urgh, get of me dickhead." she pushed him away, making him laugh. She looked at him and saw tear tracts down his normally unreadable face.

"Have you been crying?" she scoffed, secretly touched but she wasn't going to pass up this opportunity. "You have! Mate you are such a girl."

"Something in my eye is all. Both eyes, at the same time like." he said gruffly.

"Of course, of course." Elle grinned at him, the smile slipping as quickly as it had come.

"Laetitia…." she breathed.

"I don't know. Lost connection on the headset. All we can do is wait."

"She got out. She got out." Elle repeated to herself and continued to repeat for the next two hours. And the hour after that, long past when Laetitia was supposed to have met them.

Time. Passing and passing.

"We should go," Scorpius broke the long silence after the fourth hour. If they got her then she might have given us up already."

"She wouldn't." Elle snarled. "Ten more minutes."

"Elle…."

"Ten more fucking minutes Malfoy!"

He shrunk back. Elle knew he was right. Laetitia wouldn't give them up easy, but she was a kid, a frightened kid. They would play on it, they would use everything they could against her. Ten more minutes. Time up.

"Okay…" she whispered. "Let's go."

A horn. An obnoxious car horn. A red sports car skidding into the deserted underground car park, drifting at top speed towards them, coming to a halt at their feet. Window slowly rolled down. A face in the window. Cigarette in mouth, sunglasses.

"What's up bitches?" Laetitia Patil said, whipping her shades off.

A wave of relief. Such fucking relief. She was okay. She'd got out. They'd fucking done it.

"Since when do you smoke?" Scorpius asked nonchalantly as if the last few hours hadn't happened.

"Yeah I don't, but I wanted to make an entrance and look fucking cool."

"Where'd you get the car?"

"Best you don't know," she replied mysteriously. "Climb in then motherfuckers."

"You're not a gangster Laetitia." Elle snorted, as Scorpius got in the car.

"Don't hate on a player."

"Whatever. And, thanks, you know. Thank you."

"Yeah whatever," Laetitia grinned. "Now come on, get in this pimping whip and let's go score some hoes!"

"Seriously, please stop."

* * *

"So, it's not the Aurors then." Scorpius stated, leaning over the back of Laetitia's chair at the computer the next day.

"Not even a mention of you two in any file. Looks like you're not the hot shots you thought you were." Laetitia snarked.

"All that for nothing." Elle sighed.

"Not for nothing now is it Elle?"

"I suppose not. Time to pay Mr Lupin another visit I think. And not just to give him those files."

"If Unity think they can fuck with us like this then they have really underestimated us," Scorpius grinned menacingly. "I'm going to show them. We're going to really show them….."

* * *

**AN - First chapter I'm not really happy with at all, wrote myself into the corner of having to write a heist/robbery and quickly realised I wasn't very good at it. Not trying to be self depricating and seek validation, I just know this isn't very good so apologies. Thanks for reading anyway, better things to come although I soon have to write a four way duel... Oh dear.  
**


	16. Dawn

"_It__'__s best__…__. If people don__'__t see you like this.__"__ \- Albus Potter_

* * *

1.30pm. Diagon Alley. The air thick with tension, the ground filled with boots, the wind busy with voices. Shouts, chants, slogans, Unity was out in force. The biggest demonstration of its kind, unparalleled in modern wizarding history. Placards and banners. Men, women and children fighting to make their voices heard above the din. Uniforms everywhere. The main body of protesters gathered outside Gringotts, the symbol of wealth, the symbol of what they were denied. Money. That's what all things came down to eventually. Money, the greatest freedom and the greatest evil the world had ever known. The thing that defines us more than any other trait. Did they know, the first men to trade in their goods for currency? Did they know the blood that would be spilled, the hurt that would be caused, the sheer awfulness of a single coins potential? Did they know what people would do to each other just to fill their pockets? Deadlier than a shotgun, a nuclear warhead, a killing curse. Deadlier than love itself.

Law Enforcement lined the streets in front of them, creating a barrier, kettling them in. No violence yet, but the situation delicate as a filigree, a knife edge ready to cut. In the middle stood Rufus Edwards, a boy promoted to a man by the sheer willpower of his beliefs. He looked around with a smile and a grimace. It was a better turn out than he had hoped for, but he was worried for them. Because whatever people thought about Rufus Edwards, and he was fully aware that it wasn't often positive, he did care. He cared more deeply about this cause, these people, than anyone ever gave him credit for. Yes, he was self serving, yes he was arrogant, yes he was an opportunist, but he was also a true believer, a true soldier, a true leader. He wanted what he thought was right. He didn't do this for himself, not really. And he could see the bigger picture better than most, was possessed with an instinct and intelligence that was rare in someone his age. And his instinct today told him that this wasn't right. He knew Unity's plan, of course he did, and it unsettled him. He could see the logic, even agreed with it, but to artificially introduce violence into a peaceful protest didn't sit all that well with him. In twenty minutes, war would break out on these streets and people would get hurt. He took a break from his shouting to glance across at a women with her child who could only be nine years old. The image of them at once swelled him with pride and caused him a sense of dread. Would they get hurt? People could die today. And he couldn't warn any of them. He was ready, he knew what was coming, they didn't. Couldn't warn them, couldn't do anything. To die for the cause was something he was ready to do, but to lead others down deaths road? It weighed heavy.

* * *

Across the street and high above, nearly touching the clouds, three figures sat on top of a sharp and glistening high rise, an eye sore on the world in every sense, a remnant of Voldemort's war. Legs dangling off the side, looking down on the chaos below, a giant game of Sim City, only it wasn't a game, not anymore.

"Well, you wanted to see Diagon Alley Laetitia so here we are," Eleonora smirked at the girl sat net to her. "Not looking its best today I must say."

"It's carnage," Laetitia breathed out in wonder. "All those people, it just doesn't seem real."

"It's about to get very real." Scorpius frowned, lighting a cigarette off the end of his already lit one and passing it across to Elle.

"What do you mean?" Laetitia asked.

"Unity's got plants inside the law enforcement. In fifteen minutes they're going to send stunners into the crowd."

"But why?" Laetitia asked horrified. "It's a peaceful protest. Why would they attack their own?"

"To create sympathy. This is being broadcast everywhere, all over the country, all over the world. If the law is seen attacking peaceful demonstrators it makes the Ministry look like a totalitarian state and Unity look like the innocent victim. Even the Ministry won't be able to spin their way out of it."

"Do you think there's going to be a war?" Laetitia asked quietly after a while.

"Not yet," Scorpius replied. "But maybe."

"Rufus said to me that 'one day soon, you're going to have to choose a side'," Elle said. "And I think that day's coming."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. But from now we're done hiding. We're done." Scorpius stated darkly.

Today was the day. The day that Scorpius Malfoy, Eleonora Jago and to a lesser extent Laetitia Patil were going to announce themselves. Put themselves in the middle of it all. They had talked it over last night and this morning and they had agreed that they'd been on the defensive for too long. People were coming at them from all angles and they weren't going to stand for it. Elle knew she had surprised Scorpius by fully backing what he intended them to do. She'd always been the more cautious in terms of the bigger picture. She was quicker to anger, quicker to lose control, but in terms of things like this Malfoy was the more forceful. And he was right, she was beginning to realise. They'd always done things on their own terms and now should be no different. Now was the time to take it to the next level.

"You don't have to come Laetitia," she said. "It's gonna be dangerous."

"I know."

"Your records are wiped. A hundred thousand in your bank account. You can go, start somewhere new, be anything you want to be."

"I know."

"We won't take it personally." Scorpius nodded.

"I know you won't."

There was a pause as they looked down at the ants. Five more minutes.

"It's like he said though, isn't it?" Laetitia mused after a while. "This Rufus kid. We all have to choose a side. And I've chosen yours. Fuck kind of a mate would I be if I just walked away now after what you've done for me?"

"You don't owe us anything Laetitia," Scorpius said quickly, his affection for the girl betrayed by the strain in his voice. "You've done as much for us as we've done for you."

"Well, when you put it like that I suppose I have haven't I?" Laetitia smirked with a twinkle in her eye. "You'd be in Azkaban without my outrageous talents."

"Yes we would." Elle nodded.

"Ah fuck it, stop being pussies," Laetitia laughed. "I don't give a fuck. Running away and sitting on a beach for the rest of my life? Nah, not for me. No wifi. I'm here, right here, right now and I ain't gonna let you two have all the fun."

"It's not going to be fun," Scorpius warned. "You're going to see things…. See us do some bad things…."

"Jesus, stop with all this shit! You two don't fool me," Laetitia grinned, looking out once more over the crowds. "You hide behind this angst, this victim complex, but really you enjoy it. Both of you get a kick out of all this and you know it. Don't deny it."

"Okay then," Scorpius smiled. "We do this together."

"YOLO!" Laetitia yelled out.

"Seriously? You really need to not say that. Like ever." Elle laughed.

"I only do it to annoy you."

"Fully aware, fucking bitch."

As the three friends grinned at each other, there was a flash of red light way down below and screams. It had begun.

"I don't want to see this." Elle muttered.

"No, let's go." Scorpius agreed, holding out his arm for Laetitia.

* * *

If the fight on the Quidditch pitch had been electric and terrifying for Rufus, this was a whole different level. Screams, more screams, Curses and hexes flung from all angles. He resisted his urge, resisted his orders to move quietly to the back. No, he wanted a fight today. The anger he felt at the world had to be let out. Fuck what 'The Wolf' said. Too important to lose? No-one was more important than this. He pushed his way through the crowds with a group of others. Some were running, some were fighting. He begrudged neither. But he was going to fight.

"Stupefy!" he shouted, knocking a stray hit wizard out with a clean jet, adrenaline coursing, the thrill of the fight. A man went down next to him, holding his side. Blood. Shot up sparks in the air, ducked behind the duellers on the front line and desperately looked around. Grabbed a man next to him who was nursing a scratched face.

"Help me with him!" he yelled over the din.

"I got this," the man replied levitating the injured one in front of him. "You stay and put a fucking hurt on them for me."

Rufus saluted the man and weaved his way back to the front.

"Stupefy!" he screamed, just in time to stop an Auror from hitting a thick set woman with his own stunner.

Shield charm up, he took stock quickly. People were falling everywhere. A no mans land was drawn between the two, law and Unity, figures lying prone in the middle from both sides. People trying to help, drag their friends to the back, but getting hit themselves and joining them on the ground. He saw Melanie, his friend, his confidante, in the thick of things, duelling as fierce as anyone. Saw faces he had long forgotten, ex Slytherin's who had broken free of Hogwarts shackles only to be tied down by new, less cushioned ones. Across the other side, James Potter at the front, a group of Aurors behind him. He felt the hate coursing through him at the sight of the man, the one above all others who had made so many children's, _children__'__s, _life hell. He'd seen Potter hex a first year when he was a seventh, had seen him constantly attack, attack, attack defenceless people, not stopping, not chastised, not punished. Rufus could give it to Albus, he wasn't the cunt of the family.

Then, it was like an action replay of the Quidditch pitch, Melanie going down, a stunner in the chest. The rage just exploded from him. Shield charm lifted, he slashed and slashed like a man possessed, what he lacked for in prowess made up for by his sheer will to hurt. But it could only get him so far, felt a sharp pain in his left side, the strength of the spell causing him to be thrown through the air, spinning all the way. But he got back up, forced his way to the front. Clutching his side and grimacing, specks of blood on his face he looked defiantly across, seeking the hazel eyes of James Potter. Caught them. A grin on the Aurors face. Raised his wand, Potter did the same. A stunner, a hex, a shield, a curse and a disarmer, comprehensively beaten like he knew he would be. Thrown to the floor wandless, Potter taking aim, taking time to savour the moment.

"WELL GET ON WITH IT YOU FUCKING PRICK!" Rufus screamed out. Another malicious grin, a flick of the wrist and then…

Nothing. Breathing. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly.

A vast shield charm, more like a wall, shot itself up from the ground in the no mans land, creating a barrier between both sides covering the whole battlefield. Confusion. Spells rebounding back onto their own. Had the law had enough? But when he looked across, Potter looked just as confused, as did his cohorts. Then, from behind him, a sharp crack noise and a jet of light from high above, a terrifying yellow bolt that looked like it could split the sky itself in two. It stuttered and flickered like a television with bad reception, illuminating the sky with flashes of light. And then, it was whole, curling around the clouds, careening in circles across the landscape, it quickly became apparent that it was drawing out something. First a circle, then it twirled inside. The letter U. Unity. In the sky for all to see. Cheers from their side as they gazed up, looks of confusion and even fear on the others. Then, three figures.

The top of Gringotts bank, three figures silhouetted against the artificial atmosphere they had created. Rufus gazed up at them, pride swelling through him.

He was here.

"DO YOU SEE NOW?," The Wolf's voice boomed all around, shocking everyone into silence. "DO YOU SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU PUSH AND PUSH, YOU KICK AND KICK? WE DID NOT WANT THIS. WE DO NOT WANT BLOODSHED. WE WANT PEACE. WE WANT EQUALITY. WE WANT A CIVILISED SOCIETY. IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK OF YOU, TOO MUCH TO WANT? IF YOUR ANSWER IS YES, THEN YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN A DEATH EATER YOURSELF, BLINDED BY PREJUDICE AND HATE,

"WE COME TO YOU NOW, THE THREE OF US, THE THREE LEADERS OF THIS MOVEMENT BECAUSE YOU HAVE ATTACKED US. A PEACEFUL PROTEST. A LEGAL PROTEST. A DEMOCRATIC RIGHT TAKEN FROM US. ARE YOU BETTER THAN VOLDEMORT, GRIDLEWALD, THE GREAT DICTATORS?

"I GO BY MANY NAMES. SOME CALL ME A COWARD AND A TRAITOR. SOME CALL ME A HERO. SOME CALL ME A FREAK. SOME CALL ME THE WOLF. AND SOME CALL ME TEDDY LUPIN!"

Gasps around the crowd, 'The Wolf' unmasked. His identity had never been known, even by Rufus. He'd met him, spoken to him, but he had never known his real name. He looked across again at a murderous James Potter. They'd covered it up, Rufus guessed, the Potter's and Weasley's. They must have known all along. But why keep his identity a secret from the public? To save the embarrassment? But now the embarrassment was ten fold, an honorary Potter and Weasley, a Unity leader.

"YOU'VE MADE IT NECCERSSARY FOR US TO HIDE," Lupin addressed the Law Enforcement. "BUT I HIDE THE NAME NO LONGER. WE HAVE BUT ONE DEMAND. I SPEAK DIRECTLY TO RONALD WEASLEY. YOU STEP DOWN NOW. YOU ABDICATE THE THRONE. YOU WALK AWAY FROM THE CAULDRON OF HATE YOU STIR. YOU HAVE A WEEK."

"AND NOW I SPEAK TO MY FRIENDS ON THE GROUND. TAKE PRIDE IN WHAT YOU HAVE SHOWN TODAY, STANDING UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT IS OFTEN MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT SHOULD BE AND I THANK YOU. I REQUEST THAT YOU LEAVE NOW, GO BACK TO YOUR HOMES. DAWN IS RISING."

"WE ARE THE WOLF, WE ARE THE PILGRIM. AND WE ARE THE FOX!"

Another crack, the sky lit up again, and the briefest of flashes of a face, a nameless face in the depths of the atmosphere. Maybe nameless, but not unknown. The leader, the fox, La Volpe. He was here. And he was gone.

* * *

Teddy Lupin felt freer than he had done in four years. It was out there now, it was known. Keeping his identity secret for so long hadn't been the plan when he had first switched sides, but the timing had never been right, the opportunity never firmly presented itself. His unveiling had to have impact, had to be dramatic, had be an event. And he had been reluctant, he fully admitted to it. Some lingering affection still remained for them, the Weasley's, the Potter's. He had never liked James, but Albus was a good kid. And he missed Lily, his favourite by a stretch, all the time. Even Ron Weasley himself, he found himself looking at fondly on occasion.. He was a man who's achievements had to be respected, even admired. He had just lost his way in the worst possible way. And Harry Potter? No, a different story, did not like to think of him at all.

It would be more difficult now to move about. He would have to be careful. His genetics equipped him for disguise, but he was now known. It was now public knowledge that he was number two on the Auror's most wanted list. Just this last bit of business and he could get off the streets, lie low. He didn't have to do it himself, could have sent the lackeys he had with him on their own, but he was going to show respect. Respect to the two that one day could play an important role in the struggle.

He stopped outside the abandoned warehouse, drawing his wand and doing some basic checks. No traps. But three people? Two magic, one decidedly not? Interesting. Signalled his men to go in first before following them into the large open space. Looked around to see the two faces he recognized and one he didn't. A muggle? Scorpius Malfoy was sat on an upturned box in the middle of the vast space, Eleonora blew smoke in the air from her position higher up on a shelf ledge. And another girl, young, Indian, glasses, slightly chubby stood casually leaning against the far wall, a muggle iPad in her hands.

"So then, I hear 'The Wolf' is unmasked." Eleonora's voice rang across the room.

* * *

Eleonora smirked at Teddy Lupin, glancing across at the same time as Scorpius towards Laetitia who gave them a subtle nod to confirm that there was no-one else lingering outside, no other threats, just Lupin and the lackeys they could see. She had installed cameras outside, was using the iPad to watch them.

"You heard correctly, good news travels fast." Lupin replied.

"The good news is you can use your, you know, real name now," Laetitia mocked from afar. "I mean 'The Wolf'? Fucking ego trip or what bro."

"Oh don't forget 'The Pilgrim' and 'The Fox' Laetitia," Elle joined in grinning. "The only thing more pretentious than your nicknames is your fucking speeches."

Lupin frowned at them.

"And who pray are you? You're not a witch." he directed towards Laetitia.

"Gold star to you." Laetitia answered, slow clapping patronisingly.

"You a muggle?"

"Squib."

"Got a name?"

"Laetitia Patil, at your service. Well not really actually, but you know."

"Patil?" Lupin thought for a moment. "I know your mother, or at least used to…"

"Yeah? Well if you happen to bump into her, give her a slap from me."

"Noted," Lupin half grinned before turning his attention back to Scorpius. "So, you get the job done?"

"We did," Scorpius replied, levitating a stack in front of him towards Lupin. "Here are the files you wanted. I even resisted the urge to take a look. Well, it wasn't much of an urge, to be honest I don't really care what you lot wank off to."

Eleonora snorted and looked at Lupin who was looking slightly uncomfortable. Had he not expected the level of hostility and disdain that they were showing him? Maybe not because he was making to leave, wasn't going to try and recruit them again, saw it as a lost cause this time.

"Well then," Lupin said, attempting to wrap things up. "The deal is done. I'll see you two around."

He turned and began to walk back towards the door before Scorpius called back to him.

"Just one more thing Lupin."

As Lupin turned, Scorpius and Elle sprang into action, Elle leaping off of the shelf she had been perched on, wand out and ready for action. She stunned one of Lupin's henchmen, hitting him right in the face. Another stunner and another one down. A levitation charm of Malfoy's design helped throw three others across the room. Looked across to see the remaining six cocooned in a ball of water, Scorpius flicking his wand so they hurtled towards the far wall, landing unconscious in a wet pool. Elle deflected a stunner from Lupin who had recovered from the surprise attack and began to duel him fiercely, sending jets of light back at him. It was over almost as soon as it started however, as Scorpius stepped in, disarming him, and in the blink of an eye Lupin was sat, tied to a chair in the middle of the room.

"The fuck are you playing at Malfoy?!" he yelled, struggling with his bonds.

"Shut up," Malfoy replied coldly. "Elle, check they're not gonna wake up anytime soon." he instructed, gesturing to Lupin's prone men.

She walked around, waving her wand over them, a timed sleep charm. Heard a whack from behind her and saw Laetitia, fist raised over a body.

"Swift rabbit punch, just as effective." Laetitia grinned.

"You need help." Elle stated.

"I just got buzzed you know, you and Malfoy, all that duelling. Just wanted to hit someone!" she bounced.

"Malfoy, we're creating a psychopath!" Elle shouted back to Scorpius, before walking over to join him and a silenced Lupin.

"Now then Wolf boy," Elle began. "If we lift this silencing charm, you promise not to throw a fit?"

Lupin nodded, face like thunder.

"Good boy."

"What are you playing at?" he raged, free from his silence.

"Enough," Scorpius cut in, circling around him. "No tantrums remember."

"You see, the reason you're in this situation is because you've not been entirely straight with us have you Teddy," Elle said lightly. "You have not been a good boy."

"What are you talking about?" Lupin spat back.

"This." Scorpius pulled out the folder that Twig had presented to them all those weeks ago, the dossier that showed them participating in various illegal dealings, and threw it on the floor in front of Lupin.

"What's that?"

"Oh come on Lupin, game's up!" Scorpius raised his voice. "You needed someone to break into the Ministry, you couldn't risk it yourself, so you targeted eight criminal organisations looking for some leverage. We were the unlucky ones who bit. The Aurors aren't after us. You fabricated the whole thing so you could use us to get what you needed from the Ministry whilst having total deniability if it went tits up. You set us up!"

Lupin was quiet for a minute before he started to laugh.

"Very good, very good. Makes sense I suppose. But you're wrong. We had nothing to do with this."

"Do not lie to me." Scorpius threatened.

"I'm not. It wasn't us. So fucking let me go. You don't know who you're dealing with! You're in over your heads." Lupin warned

Scorpius looked across at Elle, and nodded. She braced herself, steeled herself, prayed for forgiveness for what she was about to do from a God she had never believed in. Raised her wand.

"Crucio!" she screamed, feeling the power flow through her. Screams and screams, Lupin, still tied to his chair rocking backwards and forwards, side to side, dancing on the precipice before finally capsizing, writhing on the floor in more screams.

Before it stopped, and the air was filled with the sound of heavy breathing, hers and Lupin's. She didn't feel good about what she had just done, but they were sending a message today, and this was the first stop. She couldn't show the conflicting emotions, she had to keep up appearances, he had to fear her. So she painted on a smile.

Scorpius walked over to Lupin, lifting the chair so he was upright again.

"No Teddy, you don't know who _you__'__re_ dealing with," he smirked, face just inches from him. "I told you didn't I, told you when we first met. We can make your life hell. And we will. You didn't believe us then, but you do now don't you?"

"Crucio!" Elle shouted again as Malfoy stepped back, this time it was slightly easier but it still got to her. What was just as worrying was how good she was at it, how much hate was clearly within her to be able to perform the unforgivable so well even with the doubts that plagued her. Screams and screams Same pattern, Scorpius lifting him upright when done.

"Now then," he said. "Tell us the truth. Did you set us up to break into the Ministry for you?"

"No… It wasn't us….I swear…. Please…."

Elle looked across at Scorpius. Maybe he was telling the truth. Scorpius seemed to be thinking the same.

"Right then," he clapped his hands together. "You see Teddy, I still don't believe you. Elle over here wanted to just torture you until you gave it up, isn't that right Elle?"

"Right," Elle nodded, smiling as menacingly as she could. She should be an actress, she thought because inside she was far from okay with what was happening. But she knew it had to be done.

"But I said 'no Elle, let's not be so cruel'," Scorpius continued, pulling a small vial out of his pocket.

"You know what this is? Veritaserum, my own blend. One question, and one question only. A show of faith. We aren't gonna interrogate you about everything, we're just going to get the answer we need. Elle, if you'd do the honours."

Elle stepped behind Lupin and yanked his head back by the hair, forcing his mouth open.

"Here comes the plane," Scorpius sing songed, doing an extremely accurate impression of a psychopath as he poured the liquid down Lupin's throat.

They waited a moment for it to kick in, when it did they could tell by his eyes.

"Okay," Scorpius began. "Did you and the Unity movement set us up by creating a fake dossier showing our illegal dealings so you could use us to break into the Ministry of Magic and steal information for you?"

A pause.

"No."

* * *

Another pause.

"I really hate being wrong." Scorpius groaned.

"You see?" Lupin panted. "It wasn't us, so fucking let me go!"

"Shut up. You still used us, still manipulated us." Scorpius said.

"We did you a favour!"

"A favour?" Elle scoffed. "We were this close from being caught, ruining our lives."

"Take this as a warning Lupin," Scorpius took over. "You stay away from us. We're not interested in your movement. We will never follow him, never follow you. Stop trying. If we get the slightest inclination that you're coming anywhere near us or Laetitia over there, we won't hesitate. We can get to you a whole lot easier than you can get to us and we don't have the problem of having to look good for the cameras. You understand? Nod if you do."

Lupin looked up at him with contempt in his eyes, spitting on the floor at his feet before nodding slowly.

"Good," Scorpius said lightly. "I don't want to see you again."

"And one more thing Lupin." Elle said.

"What?" he spat.

"Goodnight." Elle smirked as she knocked him out cold with a single punch.

They walked away towards the exit, Laetitia catching up with them quickly.

"Jesus you two can be fucking scary!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah." Elle muttered distractedly.

Worryingly so.

* * *

"Tell me again why I can't wear my converses?"

"Because the dress code clearly states formal attire Laetitia." Elle threw over her shoulder before turning back to gaze at her own reflection in the mirror.

Same person staring back, same hair, same shape, same eyes. How could that be? How could that be after today? She'd tortured someone, made them scream in agony, made them hurt more than they'd ever hurt before. But the reflection hadn't changed. It should do shouldn't it? Obviously not.

"Laetitia, can you give us a moment?" the voice of Scorpius barely registering as she continued her staring match with herself. She remembered the dream she had, the figure in the mirror shrouded in darkness, let out a gasp as she saw her again but in a blink be replaced by the concerned face of Malfoy.

"You okay Elle?" he asked worried.

"I don't know," she said truthfully. "I look okay, I feel alright, but…."

"But what?"

"I don't know," she repeated. "Can you zip me up?"

She closed her eyes and Scorpius acquiesced, reaching for the zip on her dress near her lower back and slowly pushing it up gently to the top.

"You look nice." he remarked, causing Elle to laugh loudly for the first time since the incident with Lupin.

"A compliment? God, you are worried about me." she said, still chuckling.

"It should have been me," Scorpius frowned back, ignoring Elle's amusement. "You shouldn't have been put in the position to do that."

"No!," Elle raised her voice sharply. "It was my decision. It had to be me. You can get by on reputation alone, but me? I had to show them that I'm every bit as dangerous, I had to prove to them that I'm not just playing, not a passenger, not a weak point."

"I know but at what cost? We've started down a dark path now…."

"We talked about this. It was a one off. We won't do it again. I didn't enjoy that, whatever Laetitia says, and that's the point. As long as we stay true to ourselves, to our principles, then we'll be fine. We're just moving the goal posts slightly. They have to learn that they are not fucking with us anymore. None of them, and today we did what we had to do." Elle said firmly.

Scorpius smiled at her slightly, patting her on the arm before turning away.

"Alright then. Phase two. You ready? LAETITIA, YOU READY!" he shouted.

"Yep," she replied, walking through the door pulling on some ridiculous looking long white gloves "You got the invitations?"

"The fuck are you wearing on your arms Patil?" Elle snorted, ignoring her question. "You look like you're going to a murder scene."

"Formal gloves. Look the part be the part motherfucker."

"The Ministry Christmas Ball," Scorpius read off the cards in his hand. "God, I bet these parties are so shit. They probably don't even have booze."

"Well, I think it's time to liven things up a bit don't you?" Laetitia smirked.

* * *

Worlds apart. Champagne and cocktail dresses. Small talk and worn out jokes that still induced fake chuckles from scattered groups. But the lingering stench of what had come to pass today still hanging over everything, forced politeness and sycophantic tendencies attempting to keep it away. Weasley Mansion was the location. Straight out a Fitzgerald novel.

The annual Ministry Christmas ball was a tradition that had clung on for decades now. Post war, the locations had switched as the balance of power shifted, from Potter towers, to the Shacklebolt penthouse and now resting on Ron Weasley's shoulders. Attendance was elite. The movers and shakers, the public figures and the shadowy ones that really held the influence could all be found there. Tonight's affair even more lavish than usual, Ron Weasley proving a point to the world, showing off his power to all. Canvassing for his election, the Minister for Magic again nowhere in sight leaving little doubt as to who was running things now.

Elle sipped from a champagne glass as she moved through the crowds, feeling mischievously out of place. Malfoy had somehow got his hands on three invitations for them at a days notice. Normally they wouldn't be seen dead at such events, but they were not here for the party. They were here for something else entirely.

"Well obviously he has my vote," a greying old hag was saying in a high pitched voice from a group of people to her left. "No-one has done more for this community than Ronald."

Elle snorted, turning a few disapproving heads from the group. Shot a smirk at them and moved on. Couples dancing awkwardly in the space in front of her, the kind of dancing that wasn't even meant to be fun, not meant to be intimate. Poses, that word again. If Albus thought Hogwarts was full of fakes then what did he think of this place? Speaking of the devil, she spotted him talking to a pretty brunette over by the drinks table. They'd all be here somewhere, the Potter and Weasley kids, bathing in undeserved adulation, basking in achievements that they could in no way call their own. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Laetitia and Scorpius at the edge of the vast ballroom, the Indian girl doubled over laughing and Malfoy with that half smirk on his face. She made her way over.

"He looks like he's shit himself." Scorpius was saying as she approached them causing Laetitia to laugh again.

"And that woman he's dancing with looks like she knows it as well," Laetitia continued the mocking. "Look out how far she's leaning away from him."

Scorpius snorted before seeing Elle.

"Where's my drink?" he asked her, frowning.

"Oh, so I'm supposed to get your drinks for you now am I? Fuck off mate, I ain't no waiter."

"Laetitia, fancying going to get us some drinks?" he asked.

"I refer you to Elle's answer." Laetitia smirked back.

"What is the point in having a new apprentice if they won't do stuff for me?" he faux sighed.

"Apprentice?" Laetitia choked incredulously. "Since when was that a thing? I'm not your fucking padawan Malfoy."

"I was kidding. So this party is as shit as I though it would be. Look at all these cunts." he said, a look of disgust etched on his face.

"Yeah, it's pretty awful. Smoke break?" Elle suggested.

"Good plan."

"The devotion you two show to nicotine is admirable," Laetitia laughed. "It's fucking freezing outside."

"Little cold never harmed anybody. You coming?"

"Nah, I've inhaled enough of your second hand smoke for one day," she replied looking around. "I think I'll have a little poke around. The security system near the front looks interesting…."

"Yeah well be careful," Scorpius warned. "Any trouble you come find us alright?"

"Whatever, go on, piss off."

* * *

Elle and Scorpius made their way through the crowds towards the balcony out back. Snatches of conversation were heard, whispers of Unity all around if you strained enough. They'd almost reached their destination when a hand pulled Scorpius back by the shoulder.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" the voice of James Potter raged.

Elle turned to see James right up in Scorpius' face, anger radiating from him.

"Potter!" Scorpius exclaimed, taking a step back. "So nice to see you again! Hogwarts just hasn't been the same since you took your leave from us."

"This is invitation only Malfoy. We don't want your kind here. When my uncle finds out…"

"Some things don't change then," Elle stepped into the confrontation. "Still hiding behind your families names Potter."

James flushed before recovering.

"You as well. Should have known, don't get one without the other do you? Still following Malfoy around like the bitch you are."

"Keep talking Potter and see what happens next." she menaced back.

"Gonna attack an Auror in plain view of the whole Ministry?" Potter smirked back, the famous arrogance oozing from him.

"We could go somewhere quiet and settle this….." Scorpius suggested lightly.

The rivalry between the two factions was still a Hogwarts legend. It had started as soon as Scorpius and Elle had first teamed up on that very first night of first year. James Potter had ruled the school for each of his seven years, and Malfoy had been the only threat to his power. It was quickly established that Scorpius was by far the better wizard, but Potter had the whole school behind him. His hatred for any Slytherin was fierce, but he downright loathed Malfoy with every inch of his being. Scorpius was the only one who would ever really stand up to him and he hated it. Hated the talent in him, hated his name, hated all of it.

"Settle down James," Albus Potter cut in from out of nowhere, appearing next to his brothers side. "Ron's on his way."

"Albus." Scorpius nodded.

"Malfoy, Jago," Albus greeted back. "You shouldn't be here."

"We're just here for the sparkling conversation," Elle held her hands up smirking, sarcasm laced in every syllable "Your family really knows how to throw a banging party."

"Just go, both of you, before our Uncle shows up and throws you out."

"Don't give them a way out!" James spat at his brother. "You've always been too soft on them. Are you forgetting what their house, and his family, did to ours?"

"James…"

"No! I've heard things about what's going on in that castle now I've left. Slytherin's burning down the Quidditch pitch, attacking Gryffindor's, and all with no consequences. You are supposed to lead our house against these Death Eater scum!"

"It's best…. If people don't see you like this." Albus said calmly.

James looked around, uncertain as he saw that he had drawn a small crowd. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, nodding slightly at his brother.

"You're right little brother…"

"Is there a problem here?" a voice boomed out, and a tall, well built ginger man stepped out from the crowd. Ronald Weasley in the flesh.

"No uncle," Albus replied, gesturing to Scorpius and Elle. "These two were just leaving."

"Were we?" Scorpius asked, a look of confusion. "The parties just getting started. Real good canapés Ronald, absolutely top notch."

"You're Malfoy's kid, Scorpius isn't it?" Ron Weasley frowned back.

"The very same. An honour to meet you sir," Scorpius held out his hand, getting no shake back. "No? Bit rude…."

"This is a private party. I send the invitations out personally."

"You doing a sideline in running events now?" Elle smirked at him. "Well, I suppose you'll be out of a job in a weeks time so why not start up a party planning business."

Elle could tell that Weasley was taken aback as he snapped his gaze on her. He was obviously not used to such bold, in your face scorn. The fact it was coming from two sixteen year olds must have been even more galling.

"Do you know who I am kid?" he asked. "Nobody talks to me like that."

"Oh, are you like important or something? Flying the flag for gingers everywhere, good on you bro."

Weasley spluttered a bit before regaining his composure at least outwardly.

"Aren't you the comedian," he sneered back at her. "Now if you don't mind but we'd like to get back to the party."

He clicked his fingers and three burly men materialised in front of them, grabbing them both by the shoulders. Scorpius pushed one back and reached for his wand….

"Enough!" another voice shouted. "If you touch my son again then you'll have a lawsuit to answer to."

* * *

Draco Malfoy pushed his way to the front of the crowd, smooth in his action, every moment carefully considered. His appearance was intimidating, the silver hair line slightly receding but it just gave more prominence to his sharp, intelligent face.

"Scorpius put your wand away."

"Whatever you say daddy dearest." Scorpius smirked back, stowing his wand.

"Be quiet." he instructed with a roll of his eyes, but Elle knew him well enough to know that he was amused by the scene unfolding.

"What is the meaning of this Ronald?" Draco asked. "Your security with hands on my son?"

Ron looked around uneasy. The crowd had swelled.

"They weren't invited Malfoy."

"They're both with me, so there is no problem here."

"I say if there's a problem in my own home Malfoy. I don't take orders from someone who spends so much time hunting down dark artefacts." Ron raged back.

"Which I do on Ministry orders as you well know."

"Yeah well…."

Draco looked at him for a moment, considering him with a cool look, before stepping up close to Weasley and whispering something quietly in his ear. Ron's face went slightly pink as the words no one else could hear took hold.

"Enjoy the party." Ron directed at Scorpius and Elle before turning away and beginning walking away much to everyone's shock.

"See you later Ronald, don't get lost!" Scorpius called at his retreating figure. "I heard your departments losing things left right and centre these days!"

Ron Weasley checked and looked back.

"Careful Malfoy. We'll see each other soon." he said before carrying on his way.

"Oh I'm counting on it babes."

"Uncle!" James called out, following him along with his brother, who shot an unreadable look at Elle before departing.

"You two, balcony, now!" Draco directed firmly and they set off through the herd, reaching the enclosed balcony space within minutes.

Draco sighed and leaned against the railings, closing his eyes for a moment before turning to look at he two of them.

"What the hell are you two playing at?" he asked calmly but angry all the same.

"You know me father, a whisper of a party and I'm all over it." Scorpius smiled back, defiantly lighting a cigarette.

Draco frowned at the stick.

"You need to start thinking more." he said. "This is not the place to cause a scene."

"We were just minding our own business…" Elle interrupted.

Draco gave her a half smile.

"Yes, I'm sure that was all you were doing. Celebrating something perhaps? Tell me why it was a good idea to pretty much admit it was you who broke into the Ministry yesterday to the head of the Auror department and next Minster?"

"There was a break in at the Ministry?" Scorpius asked with a smile. "Gosh, how exciting…."

"It's not a game Scorpius."

"Of course it fucking is. Everything's a game, life's the biggest game of them all. Don't you get that by now?"

Draco sighed again.

"Just…. Be more cautious ok? As bad as a father as this makes me sound…"

"You haven't met mine." Elle interjected darkly, Scorpius shooting her an uneasy look.

"As bad a father as it makes me sound," Draco repeated, ignoring the interruption. "I've pretty much given up on trying to keep you in check, but you have to be smarter."

"We're smarter than everyone in any room at any given time." Scorpius smirked.

"No you're not." Draco relied wearily. "There's always someone out there better, always someone who can beat you, always someone who can knock you down."

"Rules need exceptions. And that's what we are….."

"Draco!" the aristocratic tones of Astoria Malfoy wafted through to their ears. She was a tall woman, beautiful in a cold way, the personification of winter. She wore a plunging black dress that accentuated her womanly curves and pale skin. Black hair falling elegantly around her, bright blue eyes concerned.

"Scorpius, what are you doing here?" she noticed her son, going over to kiss him on both cheeks.

"And Eleonora as well… How lovely." she directed at Elle, a look of distaste all over her face.

"Astoria," Elle nodded, gesturing down. "Nice tits."

Scorpius shot her a disapproving look, Draco looked like he wanted to laugh, Astoria looked at her coldly.

"Always so vulgar," she stuck her nose in the air. "I don't know why you insist on keeping her around Scorpius."

"Mother…."

Scorpius was interrupted by Laetitia, stumbling ungraceful through the double doors.

"There you two are!" she exclaimed, not noticing the company. "The whole place is talking about some barney with Ron Weasley. Can't I leave you alone for five minutes….. Oh hello."

"Hello." Draco repeated, amused. "I'm Draco Malfoy, Scorpius' father and this is my wife Astoria."

"Nice to meet you," Laetitia stuttered, clearly unnerved. "I'm Laetitia."

"Do you go to Hogwarts with Scorpius? He hasn't mentioned a Laetitia…." Astoria asked in a superior tone, clearly already forming the same opinion of the girl as she had of Elle.

"No… I don't go to Hogwarts."

"No? Beauxbatons then? I wanted to send Scorpius there but Draco wouldn't allow it."

"More like Coal Hill secondary in East London," Laetitia laughed, gaining confidence against such aristocratic attitudes. "I'm a squib."

"A squib?" Astoria repeated, shocked. "First a muggle girl now a squib? Scorpius what are you doing to me…"

"That's enough Astoria." Draco frowned.

"He is embarrassing this family. Embarrassing you Draco."

"Who Scorpius chooses to spend his time with is none of our concern. But you are coming back to the Manor tonight Scorpius, no arguments. I wish to discuss some things with you."

"Thought you'd given up on being a Dad?"

"No arguments. We're leaving. Be at the Manor within half an hour. Good to see you again Eleonora and nice to meet you Laetitia."

With that, Draco took Astoria's arm, who looked like she might protest but quickly thought better of it and walked back inside through the doors.

"Your mother is charming." Laetitia grumbled.

"Isn't she just?" Scorpius sighed. "Well, I think overall tonight has been a success."

"Our names are out there now," Elle agreed. "No going back."

"That they are. Well I suppose I should go see what daddy wants to talk about. Shall we go?"

"You go, drop Laetitia off." Elle responded, moving over towards the railings. "I'll come in a bit."

Scorpius looked like he was going to argue, but he checked himself. She knew that he knew her inside out and he knew she needed her own space now. She loved him for it. With a final wave he took Laetitia's arm and they exited the balcony.

* * *

She lit a pre rolled spliff, didn't care that law enforcement was just a few feet away inside, and looked out over the grounds. The pretentious fucker had a maze in his garden she snorted to herself. She felt the calmness from the drug descend on her slightly. She was a different person now, after today. She'd done an awful thing, she'd put herself out there, she'd announced herself to the powerful. Not bad for a days work. Her thoughts drifted back to her childhood, snatches of memories that she was too tired to even try to block out now. Bad things yes, but some good as well. Life's the biggest game of them all, that's what Scorpius had said. Maybe he was right. Maybe he wasn't. Who knows really. Who knows what we really are. God's children? A lottery of accidents? A huge reality television show for some advanced civilisation? Sick if they were.

Did she enjoy this? That's what Laetitia had said earlier. The game, the back and forth, the danger, the rush. Couldn't answer that. Part of her did, she knew, but the other part didn't. A white beach, wand in pieces on the floor. Was that her dream or her nightmare?

"You've had an interesting night I hear."

Elle closed her eyes and inwardly groaned as Lucy Weasley appeared leaning next to her, taking the spliff from her hand and inhaling deeply. Exhaling slowly.

"Go away Lucy." Elle snatched the joint back.

"That's no way to treat a friend." Lucy smirked. "That's good weed."

"Yeah and it cost a fortune so no more for you. And we're not friends."

"Oh I don't know. I think we are. You look very nice tonight. Not as good as Scorpius mind, that boy in a tux… Jesus."

"If you know what's good for you you'll stay away from him." Elle sighed to the brunette next to her.

"Getting jealous Elle? Think he might want to trade you in?"

Elle laughed quietly, letting silence fall for a while before responding.

"You don't get it. People like you never do."

"People like me?" Lucy questioned.

"Yeah people like you. You're smart Lucy, and you've got balls, I'll give you that as well. But you're not enough, not for someone like him, not for people like us. You're not at our level. You never will be. You think causing a bit of trouble, standing a few paces apart from you family makes you different? Makes you unique? Nah, you're just a stupid little girl, poking and prodding until eventually there's no-one left. No-one to play with anymore and your left alone, lonely and fucking bitter."

Lucy frowned out into the darkness.

"You don't know me." she replied.

"I do."

"I think you're just scared. Scared that Scorpius might just want me more than he wants you."

"Oh he wants to fuck you, I know that," Elle stated baldly. "Shit, sometimes I want to fuck you."

Elle quickly moved behind Lucy, spinning her around and trapping her between her and railings, pushing her body flush against her, slipping a leg between hers, drawing circles with her fingertips on the exposed flesh on Lucy's sides, making sure her breasts were pushed up against hers.

"But it's not enough," Elle breathed in her ear, before gently biting the lobe. "The games you play…. We play them better. So. Much. Better."

She shifted her leg slightly and Lucy gasped at the friction. Elle raised her gaze to her face, leaning in to ghost her lips against the other pair.

"It must be awful," she whispered. "To know that I'm better at being you than you are."

"I…. just…." Lucy choked out.

"Oh god, sorry. I thought no-one was out here."

Elle pushed herself back off Lucy and turned around to meet the startled green eyes of Lily Potter.

* * *

"Eleonora?" Lily asked, confused. "Lucy?"

"Kind of interrupting here Potter." Elle snapped, ignoring the slight stab of pain she felt as she saw the hurt in Lily's eyes.

"It was nothing, I've gotta go." Lucy spluttered, rushing passed Lily and away from Elle.

The two girls looked at each other for a moment, before Lily turned her gaze away. She looked beautiful, Elle's thoughts betrayed her. The green dress matching her eyes, her red hair clashing horribly, but it somehow worked on her. She was so… pure.

"It really was nothing you know," Elle said, for some reason feeling the need to explain herself. "I was just messing around, bringing her down a peg or two."

"It's none of my business," Lily sniffed. "You don't need to justify yourself.."

"I know that Potter, just getting the facts right."

"Ok. Guess I'll see you at school." Lily turned away.

Horrible. It felt horrible.

"Lily!" Elle called her back. She didn't know why she had. Well no, actually she did. She just wanted to look at her one more time. But the disappointment, hurt and hints of moisture in Lily's eyes made her regret that decision, made her feel smaller than she had in a long time.

"I… I…..Nothing…" Elle sighed, defeated. "See you around."

Elle turned back towards the darkness, felt Lily's presence disappear by the emptiness and silence that followed. Alone. Lonely. And fucking bitter.


	17. Eleonora vs The End of the Evening

"_There's nothing worse than waiting to win." - Eleonora Jago_

* * *

"No."

"Oh come on Abe.."

"No."

"We just want a drink, don't make us go to the Three Broomsticks, I hate it in there, everyone's so fucking ….. straight."

"No."

Eleonora sighed. They'd been back at Hogwarts for a week and it was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the new year. Normally they would take advantage of the quiet castle and work on a few things but Laetitia had been complaining about being bored on her own in London so they'd said they would take her for a drink in the Hogs Head. At least that had been the plan until Abe had stepped in and refused them service.

"Seriously mate, we know nothing about that Ministry break in." Scorpius lied with a barely concealed grin.

"You can't even be bothered to lie properly can you?" Abe responded. "Everyone knows you did it. How you're still walking around free is a mystery to me. From what I hear you pretty much told Ron Weasley that it was you. I don't need that kind of trouble, I've got enough of it with these low lives as it is."

"There won't be any trouble." Elle said.

"Easy to say now but I'm not having Law Enforcement coming in here to arrest you and poking through my shit, not worth the risk."

Elle was about to argue back but Scorpius grabbed her arm and steered her out the door, Laetitia trailing behind. They burst through the dark dinge and into the blinding winter sunlight. Cold. Hogwarts students walking briskly through the streets, collars turned up against the fresh wind and hoods drawn tight.

"Motherfucker!" Elle kicked the door of the Hogs Head.

"Calm down Elle," Scorpius laughed. "Let's just go to the Broomsticks."

"Great, full of dickheads. And Rosmerta never gives us firewhisky." Elle grumbled as the three of them set off down the street.

"He's got a point though," Laetitia spoke up. "Why haven't we been picked up yet? I mean that's what we planned for right? We thought they'd at least try to break us in the interrogation room."

"My fathers fingerprints are all over this one." Scorpius replied. "Weasley knows they can't prove it was us, we were way too careful, and he can't do his usual fit up the Slytherin routine because my father would call the lawyers in and demolish him. He said something to Weasley at the party as well, something that stopped us from being thrown out, so maybe he has some leverage over him. I dunno."

"I don't like not knowing," Elle said darkly. "It leaves us open."

"Relax," Scorpius soothed. "It's fine, let's just worry about who the hell is messing with us. It's not the Ministry, it's not Unity so who the fuck is it?"

No answer from either of them. It was the question that they had been asking themselves ever since Teddy Lupin's honest denial. They'd been so sure when they had found nothing in the Ministry about it that it had been Lupin and Unity. So sure that they had set them up. But they'd been wrong and now they were back at square one with nothing to show for the considerable time and effort they had put in. It didn't help being back at Hogwarts either. Elle had been even more reluctant than usual to return after Christmas, she had even flirted with not coming back at all, staying in London with Laetitia and pulling some scams. One conclusion she had came too after the Ministry job was that she'd been wrong before and that Laetitia had been right. She enjoyed the work she did too much to walk away from it like she had been pondering. And that had been the key factor in her deciding to return to Hogwarts after all. As much as she scorned the education they were given, being in the castle with Malfoy made her better at what she did, so here she was, back amongst the shit.

They reached the Three Broomsticks, Scorpius pausing before opening the doors and turning to Laetitia.

"Just to warn you we are not the most popular people in places like this so keep alert. Normally no-one would dare step to us but the way things have gone this year you never know."

Laetitia laughed.

"You two, not that popular? I can't think why…."

Elle jokingly gave her the finger and pushed past Scorpius to open the doors, immediately being hit by a rush of welcome warmth. As the three of them entered a delayed hush descended and every head turned to look at them as they walked casually up to the bar. Laetitia looked around and laughed, the sound foreign against the quiet.

"Jesus, you weren't joking," she said loudly before looking over to a group of Gryffindor girls who were giving the three of them dark looks. "Seriously?" she directed towards them, pretty much yelling across the pub. "You looking at us like that means you either want to fuck or fight us, so which is it gonna be?"

Scorpius and Elle smirked as the girls turned red and looked away.

"Fucking bitches." Laetitia laughed loudly, the pub going back to normal after their entrance.

"You're gonna get into trouble one day with that mouth of yours Laetitia." Elle grinned.

"Ah whatever, I can take them."

"I'm sure." Scorpius agreed before flagging down a pretty barmaid who was all too eager to take his order. She obviously didn't know who he was.

Leaving Scorpius to her attentions, Elle and Laetitia moved across the pub towards the pool table where two Hufflepuff couples were playing a sickening game of doubles. Elle marched straight up to them, holding five fingers up. She didn't say anything, just put one finger back down. Four. Another. Three. Another. Two. They got the message, scampering quickly leaving Laetitia to rack up. Sometimes her reputation as a mental case paid off. Scorpius came over with three drinks.

"Butterbeer?" Elle sneered in disgust. "That girl would have served you anything if you had any idea how to flirt."

"Whatever. I call first go." he said, picking up a cue and chalking it.

"You two play," Laetitia said. "I'm fucking dreadful anyway."

"My break." Elle decided, placing the white down and slamming it into the pyramid, knocking a red ball into the right middle pocket.

"Lucky." Laetitia stated.

"Yeah, that's what I thought the first time we played, but she does it every time," Scorpius sighed. "I'll be lucky to get another shot now."

Elle was a brilliant pool player, had first picked up a cue when she was five years old. It was some of the only fond memories she had of the father she hadn't seen in four years. When he was in one of his rare good moods he would take her with him to the local snooker club near their flat, leaving her to sit and watch with an orange juice as he strolled around the tables, shooting the shit with the other blokes, making them laugh, picking up his own cue and demolishing anyone with it on the table. He could have been a professional he used to say if his own father hadn't made him join the army. It was no place for a small girl to be, but that was why she liked it. The smoke billowing from the cigarettes under the soft glow of the table lights, the constant stream of swearwords and blue jokes, the far fetched stories that only other drunk people would ever believe. She sat there an enjoyed it all, eventually picking up a cue and playing with the other kids who got left whilst the grown ups went about their business and she soon became an expert at pool, beating kids twice her age. They were good times, finding a stray pound for a sly go on the fruit machine, sneaking alcohol whilst the barman was busy throwing someone out. And her father there, in his element, the only time he was ever happy, and her being happy with him. And then the walk home, the dread of what would come the next day or the day after, when the memories got too much for him and when the life and humanity disappeared from behind his eyes.

Elle knocked in two more before uncharacteristically missing a tricky one into the far corner.

"Step aside Elle," Scorpius said. "Let me show you how it's done."

He missed by a foot.

"Good shot." Elle grinned sarcastically at him.

"To be fair, it's the only thing she is better than me at." Scorpius directed towards Laetitia.

"That is not what your ex girlfriends say." Elle muttered audibly causing Laetitia to burst out laughing and Scorpius to smile.

She lined up for another shot, cross doubling a ball into the middle pocket. Then another and another until she was left with just the black. She bent over the shot before flicking her eyes up to Scorpius.

"You know, if you get seven balled again you have to write me a letter of apology." she said.

"She actually makes me write them," Scorpius whispered loudly to Laetitia. "Pathetic isn't it?"

"Whatever." Elle murmured putting her full concentration into the pot.

"So," Scorpius interrupted her focus, causing her to look up. "We're back to square one on this then. Not the Ministry, not Unity. No leads, no whispers, no scraps, nothing."

"Maybe not nothing," Laetitia said. "I looked into those files you asked me too and…."

"Look, can I just fucking pot this ball and then we can talk?" Elle asked angrily. "There's nothing worse than waiting to win."

"Sure, sure." Scorpius laughed, knowing better than to argue.

Elle bent down once more and lined the pot up. Just as she was striking the white, the door of the pub opened letting in a strong breeze and several obnoxious voices could be heard above the din. Elle's concentration was lost and the black shuddered in the jaws of the pocket before leaping out, missed. She shot up furious, eyes seeking the distraction.

"Of course," she sighed. "The royalty has arrived."

* * *

"What do you mean?" Laetitia asked confused.

"Ladies and Gentleman," Elle shouted across the pub, quiet descending, every head turning back in her direction. "I give you the Potter's and the Weasley's, the children of heroes, the bringers of justice, the lions of Gryffindor, greater than the founding fathers themselves. And I'm forgetting something…. Oh yes, a bunch of spoiled, pampered talentless knobheads who themselves have achieved nothing of worth, but do not mind taking the credit for the work of others. Let us all bow down to their genetic superiority!"

Scorpius laughed loudly, Laetitia was amused but also looked slightly concerned because a few members of the other entourage was looking furious and began to make their way over. Scorpius reached into his robes to grasp his wand, ready for any action. Elle just stood there with a smirk on her face. She wasn't going to hide her disdain for them any longer, couldn't be bothered pretending anymore.

"Who are these wankers then?" Laetitia asked for all to hear, clearly deciding on bravado to mask her concern.

"I might ask you the same question," Albus Potter responded, the leader of the group who had all made their way over. "I saw you at my Uncles party but never got a name."

"This introducing myself thing is getting so old," Laetitia groaned. "Laetitia Patil, no I do not go to Hogwarts, yes I am a squib etc etc."

"Patil?" Dominque Weasley piped up. "That's a Gryffindor name, what are you doing with these snakes?"

"Yeah, fuck off mate." Laetitia dismissed.

Elle laughed before cutting off Dominque's retort.

"Laetitia let me introduce you to these lovely people. At the front here thinking he owns the place is Albus Potter, son of Harry Potter, saviour of the wizarding world and all that shit. He's like the King of Gryffindor except everyone knows that he's a bit soft really, not like his brother. Such a disappointment. Then we've got Dominque, the fit one who all the boys like and she returns the favour. To all of them. Literally all of them."

"Says you Jago you bitch. You straight or gay this week? No-one can keep up." Dominque seethed back.

"I like what I like," Elle shrugged. "It doesn't make me a bitch. Now next to her is Rosie, who's hobbies include reading obscure books about plants or some other boring shit and sucking on Tommy Finnegan's tiny cock."

"Careful Elle…" Albus warned.

"You just gonna let her talk to us like this Albus?" Hugo Weasley piped up, Albus responding with a calm down gesture.

"Oh yes, there's Hugo Weasley," Elle continued unperturbed. "Rosie's brother and….. um I got nothing, he ain't really important, doesn't do anything. Still a virgin probably as well. Behind him, and definitely not a virgin is Lucy, thinks she's like a bad girl but really she's just a minor annoyance to everyone, a bit like Chlamydia. Easily treated."

Elle smirked at Lucy who couldn't look her in the eye.

"You finished?" Albus asked.

"Albus, not all of us have been introduced yet," Elle admonished. "The hippy looking one is Roxanne, awful body odour though no-one seems to have the guts to tell her, the small ginge is Molly, since you're only a second year I think I'll leave you alone, I have morals unlike your cousin James who used to think it was funny to hex eleven year olds when he was seventeen. The pretty boy who looks like every member of One Direction is Louis, dunno much about you but you look fucking ridiculous in those dungarees, the twins back there are honorary members, fucking weirdo's both of them. Of course there's more James, Fred, Victoire, Teddy… oh wait, Teddy Lupin's not really on your Christmas Card list anymore is he…."

The air went tense as Lupin's name was mentioned, pain flashing across all of their faces, none more so than Lily's who Elle just realised was there.

"Oh sorry mate, the one trying to hide behind her hair is Lily Luna…"

Elle paused, unsure where to go with this one. She really didn't want to insult the girl who looked adorable today but to not do so would show weakness and might be picked up on by the unnaturally observant Albus and Scorpius. Fuck it she thought. She was still a Potter, still a Gryffindor, still the enemy, whatever these ridiculous feelings were.

"Yeah Lily Luna. She's the doormat, doesn't say anything really. Also a closet lesbian."

Everyone went quiet and Elle looked anywhere but Lily. She felt awful. What was wrong with her? Why had she said that? She hated herself more than usual right now.

Albus Potter looked angrier than any of them had ever seen him and he drew his wand, pointing it straight at her heart. Elle felt so bad she didn't react, but Scorpius was straight into action, wand drawn.

"Just try it Potter," he warned in a low voice. "Just fucking try it."

"Take it back," Albus threatened Elle. "Take it back now."

"Oh, we'll add homophobic to Albus' list as well," Elle recovered, but her heart was beating slower than normal, breathing felt difficult. Self hate. Old friends the two of them. "What's wrong with being gay?"

"That's not the point," Albus growled. "And you fucking know it."

"If you don't put your wand down Potter then I'll…." Scorpius attempted to menace before he was cut off by a loud voice.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, enough of this. Poor Rosmerta looks like she's going to have a heart attack." Rufus Edwards stepped into the fray.

* * *

He had been watching from a distance, initially amused but then growing more concerned as things got more heated. What were they playing at? It wasn't like Elle and Scorpius to antagonize the enemy this much, wasn't like them to declare open war. Because if they weren't careful, that was what they were going to do and this castle couldn't take it. As much as he hated the Potter's and the Weasley's, he knew that fighting them was just a shortcut to defeat, at least for now. Yes, he had been guilty this year of starting a few fights himself, he was growing more militant as things got more desperate out there in the real world, but he knew when to stop. And he knew Elle and Scorpius knew when to stop also so what were they doing? As things were coming to a crescendo, he had decided to step in.

"Get out the way Edwards." Albus said calmly, wand still raised.

"Not going to happen I'm afraid Potter. Let's save this for the ring alright?"

"What do you mean?" Potter asked lowering his wand a fraction, a brief flash of what could have been fear appearing on his face.

"Well since we were doing introductions, how about I take over. Ladies and Gentlemen," he addressed the pub which had come to a standstill watching the scene unfold in front of them. "Let me introduce you to the Slytherin Champion, the man who will be stepping into the ring the Sunday after next. Give it up, for Scorpius Malfoy!"

The pub was awash with whispers. So he was stepping up. No-one had seen this coming, every indication had been that he had refused to participate. Elle glanced across at Scorpius who looked uneasily back.

"The hell Malfoy!" she hissed at him, careful that it went unnoticed.

"I'll explain later." he muttered back.

"You're fucking doing this?"

"Later." he whispered.

Albus lowered his wand and looked at Scorpius.

"You're going to fight?" he asked.

"Yes."

"What's he got on you Malfoy," Albus questioned perceptively after a pause. "What's he got on you?"

"You think I'd let this little shit tell me what to do?" Scorpius scoffed, but to Elle's ears it sounded unconvincing.

"I know you Malfoy, I know how you think, how you work. What's in this for you? What's he got on you?" Albus repeated for the third time.

Scorpius stepped close to Albus, nose to nose.

"What's in it for me?" he whispered. "The pleasure of wiping that smug grin off all of your little cronies faces. I know I'm better than you, you know it too, but some of your disciples appear to think differently. And Sunday after next I'm going to show them how wrong they are."

"What's he got on you?" Albus repeated again. "I don't buy that bullshit. What's he got on you?"

"Believe what you want Potter. Just be ready to lose."

"See you there then Malfoy."

"That you will. Laetitia, Elle let's go."

The three of them walked out the doors in silence, Malfoy ahead, the other two following.

"What the hell is going on?" Laetitia asked, breathless from trying to keep up with Scorpius.

"Not here," he replied. "Let's go back to London tonight."

* * *

They got back to the townhouse which Laetitia had pretty much moved into, could tell by some of the ridiculous pink decorations she had put up around the place. Scorpius was looking around distastefully before Elle grabbed him by his jacket and shoved him against the wall.

"The fuck Malfoy!" she yelled. "You're actually playing Lucy Weasley's games?"

"Calm down," he pushed her off. "It's all part of the plan isn't it, get our names out there, stop taking the shit they give us."

"If it was part of the plan, then how come I find out with everyone else? Why does Edwards know before me? Why do you look so fucking shifty?"

"I don't. Look, I'm sorry, I should have told you. It's just with this whole Ministry thing and all the confusion I honestly forgot about it. I agreed on the train home…."

"That's why you were so out of sorts that night then," Elle accused. "Potter was right, what the fuck does Edwards have on you."

"Nothing, nothing!" Scorpius repeated after Elle met his words with a sceptical look.

"No, there's something not right about this. It doesn't fit. We only decided a week ago to start being more aggressive and you agreed to this before the holidays. What the hell is going on?" Elle almost screamed at him.

He was keeping something from her. She just knew it. They both had their secrets sure, but this? No this was too much.

"I have literally no idea what's happening." Laetitia ventured from the corner.

"Join the club." Elle shot, eyes never leaving Scorpius.

Scorpius spun away from the two, sitting down on the sofa and lighting a cigarette. Elle stood stock still, staring at her friend. Her best friend. The person she loved more than anyone in this world. And she didn't recognize him. couldn't read him. Didn't know what was happening.

"Laetitia," Scorpius said after a while. "What were you saying earlier about a possible lead."

"Oh no, fuck that!" Elle raged. "We are not done with this conversation."

"ENOUGH!" Scorpius shouted. "What is your problem? You were the one who almost started a brawl today, so why are you having a go at me for this?"

"Because this is not what we do! We do not play other peoples games."

"We don't? Well what have we spent the last month doing? Breaking into the Ministry because Unity wants us too, running around London because someone we don't know has been following us and is threatening us. What do you call that then?"

"It's different and you know it! We had no choice. Not like this. Unless you don't. What's he got on you Scorpius, what's got you running scared, doing whatever Edwards wants?"

"NOTHING!" Scorpius shouted again. "He has nothing. I want to do this. Me. I want to fucking beat him ok? Maybe it's an ego trip, I don't know. But I want to do this."

"I don't believe you." Elle said quietly.

"As I said to Potter, believe what you like. Now Laetitia…."

"Okaaaay…." Laetitia drawled out, looking between the two of them nervously. "Everyone take some deep breaths. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Come on now, with me."

"This isn't over." Elle warned Scorpius.

"Whatever, Laetitia….."

"Right," Laetitia moved over to her computer hub. "So you asked me to look through those files for that name. And she doesn't crop up anywhere. No trace of her on the computer at all. Of course, they may have only kept physical copies in the file room…."

"They didn't, I checked when I was in there," Scorpius interrupted. "No mention of her, no files, nothing."

"Strange…." Laetitia mused.

"What's going on?" Elle asked confused, distracted from her anger towards Malfoy. "Who's this she?"

"Joanne Joyce." Scorpius replied, surprising Elle by mentioning the former Slytherin student who had mysteriously been convicted for murder before being given a full pardon days later.

"Joanne Joyce?" Elle repeated. "We're back to her? What's going on?"

"That sentence is being used a lot today," Laetitia attempted to joke, faltering under Elle's withering gaze. "Yeah um Scorpius asked me to look for any mentions of her on the computer files we stole and there was nothing."

"Scorpius, explain." Elle demanded.

"I don't know," he closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the sofa. "It's just…. a feeling. Everything seems to lead back to her, where it all started. Our first instinct was that she was involved somehow right?"

"Yeah, but we were wrong, she has no ties to Unity and there's nothing to suggest she's involved in anything else."

"No, but that doesn't mean the instinct was wrong. All this shit started when that story broke, when she was arrested. What if we're just not seeing it, not seeing the connection. She's not mentioned in any Ministry file. Don't you find that a bit strange? They tried her for murder for God's sake."

"Well I guess," Elle agreed unconvinced, "But I don't see anything in it. I mean we know nothing about her."

"Exactly. No-one does, I've asked around. She's still out there, still living a normal life, but something's off about it. Something's not right." Scorpius sighed, repeating Elle's words from earlier.

"Okay, well what do we know about her?" Elle asked.

"Nothing really. Twenty one years old, works at the bookshop in Knockturn Alley, smart enough but can't get a decent job because she's a Slytherin, both parents still alive, one brother, a Ravenclaw three years older, and a sister two years younger who died in Joanne's second year at Hogwarts."

"Her little sister died? I never knew that." Elle murmured, feeling sorry for the girl who she remembered as all round decent, undeserving of the shit she had to put up with on a regular basis due to her house colours.

"Yeah. But that's all we know. I would suggest we go and talk to her but it's a risk I'm unwilling to take in case she is involved. And Unity sent Mickey Bricks in to try to get her to talk and even he got nothing, so I doubt we could do any better."

"Mickey Bricks?" Laetitia questioned.

"The man is an artist," Elle answered. "Best con man in he wizarding world bar none."

"What do we do then?" Laetitia wondered.

"I don't know," Scorpius sighed taking a drag of his cigarette. "I really don't know."

They were quiet for a minute, each lost in their own thoughts. Elle was still angry, still confused, still hurt by Malfoy's deception but she realised that it was no use in thinking like that. He clearly wasn't going to tell her the full story, wasn't going to let her in on this. So she had to trust him. Had to believe that he was doing it for a reason, that he'd tell her eventually. She wasn't going to throw away their partnership over this.

"Okay," she began, taking control. "We can only deal with one problem at a time and right now it's this stupid fucking duel…"

"Elle…" Scorpius attempted to interrupt.

"No! I'm not going to shout again, I'm not going to push it. You don't want to tell us your real reasoning right now then fine. But you will one day, once it's over, you'll tell me alright? Alright?"

Scorpius nodded.

"Fine then. Right, we have two weeks until the fight. Now Potter knows that it's you he's going to be facing, he'll be training three times as hard, so you have to do the same."

"I can beat Potter with my eyes closed." Scorpius bragged arrogantly.

"No you can't." Elle disagreed. "Of course you can't. I will not do what Potter's entourage do, tell you that you're the best, whisper lies to you . Because this is dangerous Scorpius. This is our reputation on the line. He will want this more than anything, he'll do anything to beat you. So you have to fucking make sure that you come out on top. Potter is a genius, you know that. He's capable of beating anyone on his day, even you. You know this. If you are not at the top of your game then you will lose. So we are not going to be complacent. Two hours of training before lessons and four hours after. Whole day Saturday then half a day Sunday. That's how this is going to work."

Scorpius looked at her with a frown.

"You think he can beat me?"

"Yes, I do." Elle replied sharply. "You are better than him, the better wizard, but not by as much as you think. So you are going to train."

"Cue the Rocky montage…." Laetitia muttered.

"Okay, fine," Scorpius gave in, looking none too happy. "But we can't just ignore everything else that's going on. There's still someone out there who's trying to play us."

"And that is why we have Patil here," Elle continued on with phase two of the plan and turning to address Laetitia. " It's time you paid the rent on this place. You are going to put round the clock surveillance on Joanne Joyce. I want cameras in her home, in her work and I want her followed wherever she goes. If she's got anything to do with this then I want to know. I'll put you in touch with a surveillance team me and Scorpius sometimes use, they're the best at this kind of thing. Money is no object. Run it from here and if anything suspicious comes up you get in touch with us. Anything at all."

Laetitia saluted her.

"I can have it all set up by Monday."

"Good. Now if you two don't mind, I'm going to go find somewhere to get a quiet drink. Alone. I'll see you on Monday Scorpius. Six am in the chamber."

"Fucking slave driver."

"You'll thank me for it, trust me…. Maybe not the right phrasing since you clearly don't trust me at the moment."

"Elle…."

"Whatever Malfoy, see you Monday."

* * *

And so he trained. Harder than he had ever done before. Nights spent pouring over books, sharpening up on defensive and offensive spells, practicing for any and all eventualities. The weeks passed and it was soon Sunday morning, the day of the duel. Elle and Scorpius sat apart in the chamber, smoking cigarettes, not speaking. Their relationship which had fluctuated more than ever this year was at a low. Elle resented him for keeping things from her, not telling her the truth. She knew something was going on with him, but he wasn't budging, wasn't letting her in. She didn't begrudge him holding secrets from her as such, she had a few of those, but she knew that whatever it was was going to affect her as well. She just knew it. The looming threat outside the castle didn't help matter, Laetitia's surveillance so far appearing fruitless. No suspicious activity, Joanne Joyce just seemed to be another lonely woman drifting through life. No word from the Ministry either, no repercussions so far. She didn't like not knowing, didn't like forces outside her control.

"It's time." Scorpius spoke up after a while.

"Ok. Let's go."

They walked slowly through the castle towards the room of requirement not speaking. A trickle of students followed them as they got closer. The whole thing had been carefully orchestrated so as not to arouse the suspicion of the staff. Only third year and upwards were allowed to attend and spectators in groups of ten had been allocated a time slot to get to the destination. If they had all rushed to the arena at twelve then the sheer volume of students would have come to the teachers attention. Elle, Scorpius and a group of Slytherin's were the last to arrive.

They knocked three times on the door and were let in quickly with a glance around outside to make sure they were alone. Elle stepped into the room and couldn't help but let out a gasp at the sight. As vast as the Quidditch pitch, the main duelling space was a wonder to behold. The arena covered in sand like a gladiator stadium, the landscape was sparse, a few rocks dotted about the place for cover. That was where the King or Queen would be crowned. Circling the pit were the packed stands where the students would watch the drama unfold, protected by a vast shield charm that covered all, cocooning the space. But the real breathtaking part was the ceiling, charmed like the Great Hall, harsh sunlight streaming down from the sky. It was like they were outdoors. Elle and Scorpius walked over to the Slytherin stands where Rufus stood waiting.

"Afternoon," he smiled. "Nice day for a duel is it not?"

"Whatever Edwards," Scorpius dismissed. "So how's is this going to work?"

"You'll see soon enough. Me, Potter, Jones and Amy Sterling from Ravenclaw have set it all up. Lucy Weasley will call us up to write the names of our house champion down on enchanted parchment. Once the name is written, the individual is magically bound to fulfil the duel. No loopholes, no getting out of it so if you're having second thoughts…."

"No. Of course not." Scorpius replied through gritted teeth, his reaction pretty much confirming to Elle that Malfoy didn't really want to be doing this, that Edwards was forcing him in to it. But how? No use in speculating now though, she had to stand behind him like she had always done and always would do, whatever the state of their relationship.

"Great, here we go then!" Rufus grinned gesturing towards the middle of the ring where Lucy Weasley was walking out, hush descending with every step she took. She reached the middle and looked around, shit eating grin all over her face.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN," she began. "WELCOME TO THE DUEL OF THE AGES. FOUR HOUSES, FOUR CHAMPIONS, ONE WINNER. LET'S MAKE SOME NOISE!"

Applause, shouting, banging, the noise was deafening. The whole school had turned out for this.

"NOW, BEFORE WE BEGIN, THE RULES!" Lucy shouted over the din before quiet took hold once more. "RULE ONE, ONCE YOUR NAME IS PUT FORWARD BY YOUR HOUSE LEADER THEN YOU ARE BOUND TO COMPETE. RULE TWO, THERE WILL BE TWO SEMIL FINALS, GRYFFINDOR V HUFFLEPUFF AND RAVENCLAW V SLYTHERIN WIH THE FINAL TO TAKE PLACE ONE HOUR AFTER THE SECOND SEMI. RULE THREE, NO DARK MAGIC!"

Jeers from the rest of the school directed to the Slytherin's and Malfoy.

"AND RULE FOUR, THERE ARE NO MORE RULES!"

Wild cheers again. Elle had never experienced an atmosphere like it. This must be what it's like to be a sportsmen she thought. Imagine the rush every week if this was your living?

"NOW, I INVITE THE HOUSE LEADERS FORWARD. ALBUS POTTER, TOBY JONES, AMY STERLING AND RUFUS EDWARDS, PLEASE COME UP HERE AND SUBMIT YOUR CHAMPIONS."

With a last grin directed towards her that Elle didn't like one bit, Rufus walked out into the middle. She watched as he shook hands with the other house, as he waited to write the name down on the parchment, watched as he did it, watched as he turned to them and smiled again.

"I don't like this Scorpius." she muttered, getting no response.

Potter, Jones, Sterling and Edwards finished up and walked back to their stands, Rufus nodding to them as he passed to take his seat near the front.

"HERE WE GO THEN!" Lucy shouted. "I GIVE YOU THE GRYFFINDOR CHAMPION, ALBUS POTTER!"

Hisses from the Slytherin's, cheers from everyone else as Albus walked back into the centre and stood next to Lucy, determination etched across his face.

"THE HUFFLEPUFF CHAMPION, TOBY JONES!"

More muted cheers, Jones returned to Lucy's side looking more nervous than ever.

"THE RAVENCLAW CHAMPION, JOHNNY BAXTER!"

An explosion of noise, Baxter was popular with all, particularly the females of Hogwarts due to his easy charm, slight bad boy persona and fierce intelligence.

"AND FINALLY, WELL, WELL, WELL. I GIVE YOU THE SLYTHERIN CHAMPION…."

A pause. Elle looked towards Rufus who was looking right at her. And then she knew.

"ELEONORA JAGO!"


	18. Southpaw

"_We don__'__t get to be who we want to be, just who we need to be.__"__ \- Scorpius Malfoy_

* * *

Stunned silence. Could hear a pin drop. Numb. She was numb.

Scorpius recovered first.

"Don't react," he murmured. "Walk up there and smile at them. Fucking smile Elle alright?"

Elle nodded, his words just about piercing her trance like state. She began to walk as steadily as she could towards the middle and the other champions, her opponents now she guessed. With every step she took silence turned into whispers which turned into chatter which turned into jeers. Her own house hadn't even recovered from the shock to stick up for her and cheer her on. Her thoughts were unfocused and unclear, jumping between the past and present, her father, Scorpius, Laetitia, London, a flash of red, Scorpius. Smile, that's what he had said. If she was in her right mind she would have understood his words, realised that the battle didn't begin in an hours time when she would face Johnny Baxter on the field, rather it began now when they all came face to face for the first time. And although this wasn't a concept she would grasp until later, she still smiled. Because that is what Scorpius had told her to do and Scorpius always had her back, always had her best interests at heart. He was her friend wasn't he?

She reached the middle, a smile painted on her face. Looked across at her competitors. Toby Jones, white as a sheet gave her a nod, Baxter a roguish wink and Potter? Well he just looked at her with that look he had been giving her so often of late, a look of confusion, of hatred, of grudging admiration? She didn't know, couldn't read him. He looked away sharply, any emotion disappearing from his face as his mask slipped firmly back on. Lucy Weasley smirked at her, clearly seeing this as some form of revenge for the other day. But Elle, who was recovering with each passing second, mustered up enough willpower and courage to smirk back and blow her a kiss, Lucy looking away quickly. She was holding it in. She was in control. Just.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE HOGWARTS CHAMPIONS!" Lucy shouted to cheers from the crowd. She looked out at the sea of people, picked out familiar faces. Rose Weasley and Tommy Finnegan loudly shouting for Albus, Lily next to them looking ash white and worried. Their eyes locked for the briefest of moments and Elle faltered. Knew that she was showing Lily every uncertainty, every doubt, every single bit of fear. So she tore her eyes away. They flitted over the Slytherin stands, looks of disappointment on all their faces. She wasn't Malfoy. She couldn't win. Saw Edwards stock still give her a sickening smile. Then she found Malfoy. His face impassive as ever, his eyes betraying nothing, just looking at her. Gave her a brief nod of praise. Well done.

"THE FIRST ROUND, ALBUS POTTER V TOBY JONES BEGINS IN HALF AN HOUR!" Lucy continued before stepping down from the podium.

"Right, good luck all," she smiled falsely. "You each have your own private room behind your respective stands to prepare. You are allowed to name a second, and then only they will be allowed in said room with you. I will come get you when it's time for your round. Now, your seconds?"

Elle replied with Malfoy's name without hesitation, causing Albus eyebrows to shoot up. He named Rose Weasley, the others Elle didn't even bother listening to.

"Okay then, I trust you can find them yourselves. Albus, Jones, you have twenty five minutes till we start. Eleonora and Johnny, your duel will begin fifteen minutes after there's has finished."

"So in about half and hour then." Johnny Baxter laughed, openly mocking Toby Jones. Jones had no chance. Albus knew it, everyone knew it, but worst of all he knew it himself.

* * *

Elle walked away, as quickly as possible whilst trying to maintain a calm demeanour. She was about to lose it. Needed to get into that room. Malfoy understood instantly as she reached him, touching her arm to calm her and subtly leading her behind the Slytherin stands where they found a door with her name on it. She pushed through it, Malfoy following and shutting it behind him, wordlessly locking it with a wave of his wand. As soon as she was out from the glare, she collapsed onto the waiting sofa, breathing hard and heavy. Malfoy said nothing, just stood with his back against the door waiting. Panic was rising up in her, threatening to take over every ounce of her being. Her mind was all over the place again, but all roads led to the one certainty of all. She couldn't do this.

"I can't do this Scorpius." she choked out, attempting to get her breathing under control.

There was a pause before he replied.

"I'm so sorry Elle. I'm so fucking sorry but you have to."

"No I fucking don't!" she exploded. "Why the hell do I have to? I can go out there, get hold of that supposedly binding contract and figure out a loophole in a minute whatever Edwards and Weasley say. You could do it in 10 seconds! So why don't we? Why am I here Malfoy? It was supposed to be you. You agreed to this, you. And that was all you. You and your secrets, you and your fucking lies. And now I'm here. About to be humiliated, about to be hurt. Do you have any idea what this is going to do to me? All I've ever known is hurt and pain and fucking hate and here I am again. Just when I think it's over I'm back in it again. And it's your fault, all your fucking fault. You're supposed to look out for me! You're supposed to be my friend!"

She was crying now, tears streaming down her face. She lashed out at Malfoy, punching him in the chest over and over before he managed to subdue her by pinning her arms against her, locking her in a bear hug. They stayed like that for a while, silent except for the occasional sob from Elle.

"I'm so sorry," Scorpius repeated into her hair after a while. "It was supposed to be me, you're right. And Potter was right. Edwards blackmailed me into doing this and now he's punishing you for my mistakes, trying to hurt both of us. I'm so sorry but you have to do this, you have to fight. Because if you don't then I'm done. I'm fucking finished."

Elle pushed herself away from Malfoy so she could look him straight in the eye.

"What's Edwards got on you Malfoy? What the hell have you done?" she whispered.

He looked straight back at her before he span away, punching the wall. It shocked Elle a little, violent outbursts against inanimate objects was normally her thing.

"I can't tell you." Scorpius replied finally.

"No, you fucking tell me!" Elle screamed at him. "You want me to humiliate myself in front of all those people, want me to get destroyed by Potter and you won't tell me why? No fucking way."

"I can't tell you." he repeated, his normally unreadable eyes flashing with uncertainty.

"Fine then," Elle moved a step closer to him. "I'll go out there, change the parchment so it's you who has to fight and let Edwards tell me himself. Let him tell everyone if that's what it takes. I'll fucking do it."

Scorpius pushed her back lightly.

"Please Elle… I promise I'll tell you when this is done. When it's all over tonight, I'll tell you. But for now, you have to go out there and duel them. Knowing why you have to will not help now. You've trusted me since the day we first met. Please, just do it one more time. And if you never want to again after tonight then that is fine. But please, now just trust me."

She almost didn't. She was so close, so close, to walking out there now, declaring it had been a huge mistake and let Malfoy face his fate, whatever that may be. But she didn't do that. Of course she didn't. Of course she trusted him one last time. But deep down she knew that it was the last. The last time she would ever trust him completely.

"Cigarette." she demanded, no words of acceptance were needed. She was doing this and he knew it. Scorpius threw her his pack and she settled down onto the sofa. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly, the mantra. The repeated mantra.

"I can't win," she repeated her statement from earlier. "He's going to beat me."

"We aren't thinking about Potter right now," Scorpius instructed firmly. "You need to focus on the job at hand and that's beating Baxter."

"Right, okay…"

"Seriously Elle, you have to clear your mind. Like you're on a pool table yeah? Just focus on the pot, don't worry about the next one."

Elle snorted despite the situation.

"See, that's why you're so shit at pool. I always think at least one shot ahead, you have to. So that analogy has not really worked oh Jedi Master."

"Okay," Scorpius laughed quietly. "I get it. Fuck analogies, just focus on this round."

"I'll do my best," Elle said doubtfully. "So, Baxter…."

"Shouldn't cause you too many problems." Scorpius replied, back to business. "He's a better dueller than Jones no doubt, but he is not in your league."

"So how do I beat him?"

"What's the basic rule of duelling?" Scorpius countered.

"I dunno, beat the other guy?" she deadpanned, not meaning to be serious.

"Exactly. You beat the other guy. Skill matters, of course it does, but it's more important to know the opposition, know how they think, know their weak spots and know how to exploit them. It's not about the magic you know, it's about the magic _he _knows."

"You got this from one of those awful 'Art of War' books didn't you?"

"Perhaps," he smiled slightly. "But it applies here."

"Okay, so what are Baxter's weaknesses? What does he know?"

"Well, what do you think?"

Elle took another toke, thinking of everything she knew about Baxter. Keeping her mind busy was keeping the panic away.

"Personality wise, he's arrogant, in your face, more aggressive than the average Ravenclaw," she mused. "Defence isn't his strongest subject but he's a transfiguration and charms expert. And he's left handed…"

"That one may be irrelevant," Scorpius said. "But the others are all true. So what does this tell us about his duelling technique?"

"He's going to come out aggressive, hit me with everything he can early on. Try to use his skills maybe transfiguring the rocks that are in the arena into something that can hurt."

"Exactly." Scorpius praised. "He'll throw everything at you straight out the gate. What you do is you block everything, you don't attack him at all at first. Unnerve him, frustrate him and he will begin to make mistakes. Don't just pounce on the first hint of weakness, let them creep in as he gets more and more frustrated until he pretty much forgets about the protective and prevention side of things. When you see that happen, you hit him fast and hard with basic to intermediate defensive spells, disarmers, stunners, levitations if you want. Nothing fancy, you need to save the surprises for Potter…."

"I thought we weren't thinking about him." Elle groaned.

"You're right. Sorry. But that's what you are going to do ok? That's how you're going to win."

A muffled roar from the crowd outside. Potter and Jones were about to begin.

"Do you want to watch it?" Scorpius asked. "It might help, might show up a weakness in Potter's game…."

"Don't be ridiculous," Elle dismissed harshly. "It'll be a walk in the park for him, won't show us anything. And I don't want to watch him to do Jones what he is going to do to me."

They lapsed into silence, Elle lighting another cigarette. They heard the klaxon sound and the crowd cheer and gasp and then, within three minutes explode. Heard the chants of 'Potter, Potter!'. He had won even more easily than had been anticipated. Another couple of minutes and then a knock on the door.

"10 minutes!" they heard Lucy Weasley shout.

They were a long ten minutes. Neither spoke, neither had anything more to say. To be honest Elle could have used the distraction of conversation but she was too angry at Scorpius to start one and she knew that he was too afraid to rile her up again. She tried to block everything out, clear her mind. What had he done? What was the big secret? How did it relate to her? All questions that she wanted, no, craved answers to, but also questions that she shouldn't be thinking about now. She shouldn't be thinking about anything. Should be in her 'calm place' or whatever those stupid self help books called it. She shut her eyes again, blocking out the world, blocking out the light, blocking out life. And that's how she stayed until another knock.

"Time!" Lucy called through the door.

Elle stayed still for a minute, lay across the sofa, eyes still firmly closed. She allowed herself one last moment before she let it all stream back in again. She stood up, checked her wand, looked at Scorpius.

"Elle I'm…." he began before being interrupted.

"Shut up," she said as calmly as she could. "Just shut up."

He nodded and she brushed by him, and before she could think anymore about it she yanked open the door and walked straight out into the spotlight.

* * *

Heart thumping, head pounding, Elle walked out into he middle of the arena. It lifted her slightly to hear her house had recovered enough to shout for her, cheer for her. Yeah, she didn't like most of them but still it was nice. The jeers were louder however as she made her way to the middle of the ring where Johnny Baxter was already stood waiting, looking as effortlessly handsome as ever with a smirk on his face. She looked around her again as she drew closer to him. It was a strange experience being under the huge shield charm that protected the crowd from any stray spells. Whilst she could still see individual faces, they were blurred, just off real. It was like they were in their own dimension. She was close now.

"CHAMPIONS, SHAKE HANDS AND RETREAT TO YOUR RESPECTIVE STARTING BLOCKS!" Lucy Weasley's voice boomed out.

Baxter lazily raised an eyebrow, but made no move to offer his hand.

"Bit mental isn't it? Must admit, didn't expect to see you here," he admitted casually. "Everyone thought it would be Malfoy."

"Everyone was wrong." Elle replied with a forced smirk.

Baxter laughed.

"Clearly. What do you say we spice this up a little." he leaned in close to her.

"What do you mean."

"A little wager," he grinned. "I win, I get to take you for a drink."

Elle laughed loudly despite herself. Even in this situation he was still trying to turn on the charm.

"And if I win?" she asked coyly, playing along.

"If you win, you get to take me for a drink," he winked extending his hand. "Deal?"

Elle laughed again at his cocky arrogance. This was ground she could play on, this was comfortable. The banter, the flirting, the brush off. She looked him up and down, sighing loudly before taking out a cigarette and lighting it, blowing the smoke in his face, leaning in even closer.

"Sorry Johnny, no way you could handle me." she breathed in his ear, pushing his offered hand away and walking back towards her starting point, a green circle in the sand.

She reached it quickly, wand in one hand, cigarette in the other. Focused on the plan, block, defend, wait for the opportunity. She was about to throw her barely touched cigarette away, but something stopped her. She heard the whispers and the laugher in the crowd. She heard the whispers and laughter that had dogged her for all six hellish years in this castle. She heard her father calling her worthless, a mistake. She heard her own voice in her head attacking her from within. And she had had enough. Enough of all of it. She decided in that moment that she wouldn't listen. Decided that she'd prove them all wrong, prove herself wrong. She felt a calmness descend on her, she felt contentment, felt life, felt everything. She felt the magic pulsing through her, the energy that was all around them. She looked at her cigarette again. Took a drag. And she faced Baxter across the arena, wand in one hand, cigarette in the other. Sending a message, that had been the tactic of the last few weeks. So that was what she was going to do. Defensive spells, waiting for weakness, playing the other man rather than using her own talent? No, fuck that, fuck Malfoy. She could do this, she could send her own warning shots to Potter. She was going to play this game her way, no-one else's.

"CHAMPIONS, READY?"

She nodded, saw Baxter do the same.

"SLYTHERIN V RAVENCLAW, JAGO V BAXTER BEGINS IN THREE…."

She was going to do this her way.

"….TWO….,"

She was going to show them.

"….ONE…."

She was going to win.

"GO!"

* * *

She almost lost.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Scorpius seethed at her as she collapsed onto the sofa in her waiting room forty minutes later, cuts bleeding and bruises already taking shape.

"God knows." she breathed out, closing her eyes.

"Fucking stupid," Scorpius continued. "You had a plan that would have worked and you just ignored it, choosing instead to do fuck knows what. It was almost embarrassing Elle!"

"I know, I know." she sighed, too tired to fight back.

She felt Scorpius move closer to her.

"I'll take care of these cuts." he said more gently.

Elle lay back as Scorpius tended to her wounds, wincing occasionally when she felt sharp pain. Scorpius was right, she thought. It had been almost an embarrassment. She had ignored Scorpius' words of advice and boy had she paid for it. At one point in the duel, around twenty minutes in, it looked as if she was beaten. One of her spells had gone wrong, creating a large hole in her defences that Baxter had shot a quick disarmer through before another spell of his had knocked her to the ground. Wandless and on the floor, it looked all over as he advanced on her. Somehow she had managed to dodge the spell that was meant to finish her off, kick sand in Baxter's eyes and weave her way back to her wand. The duel lasted for around forty minutes, forty minutes of sheer offence from both of them and forty minutes of a lesson in almost self destruction from Elle. She'd struggled out there, had perhaps underestimated Johnny, but worse had probably overestimated herself. Her spells, charms, hexes just hadn't worked how they were supposed to for some reason. She'd thought she could just go out there and be brilliant, show everyone that she was a real contender. Instead she'd merely confirmed what every already knew. Yeah, she'd won eventually but she couldn't match Potter.

"What happened out there Elle? You're the second best dueller in Slytherin, one of the most talented people in this castle, twice the wizard Baxter is. Why the hell was it so difficult?" Scorpius asked after a while.

"I don't know," she responded quietly. "I wanted to prove something, prove myself, prove to myself…."

Scorpius stopped what he was doing and turned away from her sighing heavily.

"That's always been your problem Elle."

"The only problem I've got here is you." she snapped back angrily.

"No it's not. Yeah I've got you into this and that's my bad, but hey you're in it now."

"So I just smile and accept it?" she said incredulously. "Come on then oh great one, what exactly is my fucking problem."

"You," Scorpius replied simply. "You are your problem. Thinking you have to prove something all the time, to me, to that lot out there, to yourself. Because you fucking don't Elle. Who cares what they think? Who cares what I think? You've been through some awful shit Elle and I don't mean to trivialise it, but you need to stop blaming yourself for everything that has happened to you. You need to stop all of it. You lose, you lose. Whatever."

They were sentiments he had expressed to her before. Boozy nights in smoky rooms where she had opened up to him about how she really felt, let her anger at the world and at herself shine through. But she had never listened. Not really. Because what did he really know? An aristocratic genius with parents that loved him. But these words, right now in this moment, hit her like a ton of bricks. He was right, had always been right. She was damaged beyond repair, that's what she had always told herself, there was no way around it. No way she would ever be better. Maybe she could though. Maybe there was a different way to live, a different fork in the road. A lighter one, one of acceptance, of courage, of life. Just maybe. But whatever Scorpius said, they both knew it wasn't now.

"How long do we have?" she asked him after a while.

"An hour," Scorpius checked his watch. "I managed to get a half hour delay, said your injuries needed the extra time to heal."

Elle nodded gratefully towards him.

"Thank you." Elle whispered, a wave of affection for him washing over her.

"It's ok," he replied, holding out his hand. "Now come on, stand up, let's get away from here for an hour."

* * *

The jolt, the spinning, the less than graceful landing. Unregistered and illegal port keys were her least favourite form of travel. But when she opened her eyes and realised where they were, all such thoughts were forgotten. Top floor. The Shard. London. Home.

She looked around in wonder at the view, A perfect 360 of her city, the good and the bad, the beautiful and the ugly.

She sat down in the middle of the room, just taking it all in. She lit a cigarette, but as she breathed in that first hit of nicotine, the truth presented itself more harshly than ever before, a sensation no view could distract her from. But it was different now. She was content with it.

"I can't beat Albus Potter." she said out loud.

Scorpius sat next to her and she looked at him. Could see his thought process, could see him working out what to say. Whether to lie. Could see him settle on the truth.

"No. No you can't."

Elle laughed as the weight was lifted. She couldn't win. But so what?

"Fine then, let's sit here and forget about it. Like at that stupid ice rink that Laetitia took us to. Forget that place, those people. What's going to happen in an hour. No tactics, no words of wisdom. Just you and me, maybe for the last time. You owe me that. Give me that."

* * *

_50 minutes to go._

"It was the second time I got taken away I think. Must have been about seven, maybe eight. I remember it was better than the first time, at least I knew the score, knew what would happen. So they carted me off in this people carrier, all kind words and tired eyes. Right across London, North to South. Hackney to Clapham maybe? I'm not sure. Took us ages, rush hour. I remember resting my forehead against the window, against the world as it crawled by. Must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember is the house silhouetted in the moonlight. Some group homes are alright, some are the worst places imaginable. This one was somewhere in between. That first night, I was taken up to this room, about ten girls were in it. Bunk beds, I'm on the top one by the window. I didn't say anything to any of them at first and they mostly left me alone which is unusual. Normally the alpha marks their territory straight off, it can take months to be accepted by them and they can make your life hell. But in this one I was left alone for some reason. Maybe I didn't look a threat, I dunno. But I'll always remember that first night,"

"The house backed on to a railway line and all through the night the trains ran and ran. The whole house fucking shook, the rattle was deafening to me, I've never forgotten it. And they all slept like babies. Shit, some of them were little older I suppose. But every single one of them was asleep, oblivious to the world. They told me after a while you get used to it, like the people who live near airports don't hear the planes you know? I remember sitting at that window, watching the trains roll on by and I'd fantasise that it was me on those trains. Me escaping, escaping this city, escaping him, escaping the social workers. I'd ride the train and at the end of the line I'd step off and she'd be there. My mum. And she'd say 'what took you so long, I've been waiting here since the forever',"

"Stupid maybe yeah, but maybe not. Because one day, it happened. Not the part with my mum, but the train. The Hogwarts Express. A new life away from everything, a chance to be happy. When I stepped on that train, the excitement I had was overwhelming. I didn't even care about the magic part of things, how weird is that? I was more excited by the train itself, what it could, no, what it would represent for me,"

"Ever since that day I've wished I'd never got on it."

* * *

_37 minutes to go._

"…. and that barmaid, what was her name?"

"Mandy, I think."

"Yeah, Mandy. Man that was a fucking good week. Those pills we got from that dealer in Camden who thought he was in the Italian Mob….."

"Thought he was in the Godfather didn't he?"

"He put on that awful Italian/New York accent…"

"He was from Bristol for God sake!"

"Fucking hell though he had good gear. That bar, the fucking Elevens, what a night."

"Those Columbian twins…"

"Oh Lord! I will never forget that. The things she could do…"

"You don't have to tell me, although us pulling twins was a bit weird."

"Mate, I'd do anything for a repeat performance with my one, the lovely Estefano."

"I'm pretty sure she was called Gloria, but never mind."

"Gloria? That's hardly Columbian. No I'm sure I'm right. The memory will live on forever."

"In the wank bank is it?"

"I've hired a whole fucking seperate vault for that one."

* * *

_28 minutes to go_

"I know what they all think you know. Know what everyone says about me. What even you say sometimes…"

"And what's that?"

"That I'm Scorpius Malfoy, cold, unfeeling, empty, harsh, dark…"

"I don't think that."

"Yes you do. Sometimes. It's fine. I can't help it. Because the truth is, that's bollocks. I feel everything so much more. I can feel every shift in the air, every particle of magic that's all around us. I feel pain, and joy and fear. All of it. Heightened because of what I am, what I can do. I don't mean to boast or brag, it's just the truth. Every piece of our world, I can feel. The magic flowing through me, desperate to be let out, unleashed, it's a constant battle to keep in check. Keep inside. Keep in control. So that's why I am what I am. I don't not feel. I feel too much."

* * *

_22 minutes to go_

"Do you think you'll ever get married?"

"I don't know. Sometimes I'd like to think so, but I have a hard time believing in it all you know?"

"Like marriage as an institution or just love in general?"

"Oh, I believe in love. Anyone who doesn't is a fucking idiot. Proving something is all about the evidence and there is more evidence for the existence of love than there is for anything else. The songs, the books, the plays, the operas, the eye witness accounts. Can't ignore the evidence. And I've felt it, perhaps not in the romantic sense. But I love my parents and I love you in my way."

"Don't be gay."

"No, that's your area isn't it?"

"Not really. I like boys and I like girls. I like people, don't care what they were born with."

"Unless it's like really small…."

"Very funny. So it's marriage you don't believe in?"

"I guess, that notion of 'the one' and all that. Life should be about experience, creating memories, trying new things, so why should that not apply to this as well? Being with just one person for the rest of your life means that you miss out on new things."

"But going by your previous argument, there is more than enough evidence for the existence of 'the one' in all those books and songs, let alone The Matrix films."

"You're right I guess. But I don't know. What about you, do you believe in it?"

"Marriage? Course not. What a load of shite."

* * *

_14 minutes to go_

"What you said earlier, you know it's not true don't you? Lily Potter said that I could be whatever or whoever I wanted to be. But she's not right is she. That's not true."

"Lily Potter? I knew something had happened with you two."

"Nothing really, we just had a conversation."

"You like her."

"I don't know. Maybe. But she's not right."

"No. In this moment, in this time? People like us? We don't get to be who we want to be, just who we need to be."

* * *

_Nine minutes to go._

"It's the best place in the world. Truly. I mean fucking _London_."

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life."

"Never a truer word spoken. Best city in the world. New York, Paris, Tokyo? All just pretenders."

"I don't know, New York is pretty unbelievable."

"No. Nothing compares to this place. This terrible place. When I was younger I thought of nothing but leaving this place but now all I want is to be back. In amongst the dirt, the filth, the grime, the beauty. Everything and everyone is here. In this corner of the world. The end of the world."

* * *

_Five minutes to go._

"Do you remember when we first met?"

"Of course. You punched me in the face."

"Fucking ace right hook wasn't it?"

"Hurt like hell for weeks."

"Yeah, first night of first year. There I was, this eleven year old muggle girl coming into a new world. I had no fucking idea what was happening. No idea why the whole school hissed at me when the hat called out Slytherin, no idea why our house gave me funny looks when I said that my parents weren't magic, no idea why this rat like blonde boy was staring at me so intently…"

"Rat like? Have you seen this face? This is the sculptured face of centuries of aristocracy and good breeding."

"Inbreeding more like."

"Unfortunately that may well be true. Just call me a Lannister."

"Top marks for that reference. I thought you didn't watch muggle TV?"

"I don't, but even in the wizarding world it is impossible to get away from that fucking show."

"Too true. Anyway, yeah that first night no-one talked to me and then they cooped us all up in those shitty dungeons, those horrible dorm rooms. I was used to freedom you know? Running round the city with the other lost kids, some Artful Dodger shit, and now here I was in the middle of nowhere shut up in a small space and with all these curfew rules. 'Back in the common room by eight, no night-time wandering.' Nah, I remember thinking, fuck that, I ain't being cooped up like some house cat. So I snuck out, that first night…."

"I followed you. There was something about you. You were different from the others, I knew that straight away. I was different too. I followed you to the fourth floor. You weren't afraid at all, I think that's what impressed me first. A little girl, a muggle, alone in an old and literally haunted castle. A ghost went by and you just shrugged it off. I mean who the fuck does that the first time they see a ghost alone? And then you got to the end of the corridor.."

"James Potter Fred Weasley and a few cronies. Third years then weren't they? Yeah they jumped out from behind that suit of armour and from around the corner, started pushing me, 'Slytherin bitch, Death Eater scum'. I mean I still had no idea. No fucking clue. So I fought back, spat at them, shoved them, kicked them, didn't even think to reach for my wand. Why would I? But then they knocked me down and it fell out my pocket right next to my hand. I dunno what I did, I just slashed it, and they all got thrown backwards, a couple went almost to the other end of the corridor. They got up and looked at me, but this time I saw the fear. And then you stepped out. Hung Potter upside down, unbelievable magic for a first year although I didn't know it at the time."

"To my shame I was going to let them get on with it, do what they were going to do to you and go on my way. But the way you fought back at them, the power of the spell you used, I knew then that you were like me, that you were special. I got rid of Potter and turned back to you expecting gratitude, but you were furious!"

"I said, 'What the fuck did you do that for? I had it all under control!'"

"Then you twatted me in the eye. And that was when I knew we'd be friends."

"And here we are."

"And here we are."

"We have to go back."

"Yes we do."

"It'll never be the same again will it Scorpius?"

"No Elle. No it won't."


	19. The 116

"_What's in a name anyway?" - Pauline Harper_

* * *

"Fuck." Elle cursed, breathing heavily as she picked herself off the sand again. It was only a brief respite as two seconds later she was sent spinning through the air again, catching her shoulder on a large rock in the arena. Rolled behind it to catch her breath and cast a quick healing charm on a nasty gash that had formed on her knee. Needless to say it wasn't going very well.

It had all been a blur up to this point, taking a portkey back to Hogwarts after their brief excursion, stepping out again into the bear pit only this time refusing to shake Albus Potter's hand instead of Baxter's. There was none of the flirtatious banter that the latter had engaged in, just hard stares and emotionless nods. When the klaxon had sounded and the crowd had roared the two duellers into life, Potter had wasted no time asserting his authority on the match up, breaking down her defences seemingly at will as he slashed his wand. Elle had only managed to land one spell in ten minutes, a particularly nasty stinging jinx of Malfoy's creation that was supposed to spread all over the body, like pins and needles only sharp pain instead of prickly numbness. However, Potter had easily countered it and if he was feeling any effects he wasn't showing it. Her body on the other hand was on fire, hurt everywhere. She had a burn on her left thigh, cuts on her face, she was struggling to see out of her right eye and she thought her shoulder might be dislocated after the last attack. Only one course of action. She couldn't stay hid behind a rock all day. This was going to hurt.

She sprang out as nimbly as she could, deflecting a couple of stunners and summoning all her strength to throw her own attack, a tidal wave shooting from her wand towards the Gryffindor king. It was a strong spell but she knew he would deal with it easily enough, that wasn't the point. She needed to buy herself some time, no way could she let her shoulder stay the way it was. She didn't know a spell to fix it so she was going to do it the old fashioned way. Well, actually what she was about to do had never been a medical procedure in any time to be honest. She ran full pelt at the rock shoulder first, praying to God that it would pop back into place with the impact. She screamed in agony as she heard the pop. Somehow it had worked. Flooded with pain, she turned her attentions back to Potter, who had dealt with the water and had his wand pointed straight at her. But he wasn't doing anything, just looking at her with what could only be described as a slightly concerned expression.

"Give up Eleonora," he shouted across to her. "Don't make it worse."

She should give up, she knew that. It was a close to impossible task, she was in no fit state to duel and she was facing a wizard with twice the capability that she had. But she smiled. Spat a mouthful of blood onto the sand, the red contrasting sharply with the yellow. Because yeah she was taking a beating, but no-one had the pain threshold that she had. She could do this for hours. Looked behind Potter to see Malfoy at the front of the Slytherin stands, impassive as ever. Remembered his last words to her.

"_Be creative Elle. Be unpredictable."_

It was her only real chance of getting anything from this duel she realised. Potter was a genius, one of the best wizards of his generation, he knew every spell he had been taught inside out, knew how to use them and how to counter them. He could bend traditional magic to his will and use it to cause devastation. This was not in dispute. But it could point to some tiny weakness because Elle on the other hand didn't deal in such realms, she was anything but traditional. She was a different breed and it was time to show it. All those hours spent with Malfoy pushing magic to new places, creating instead of copying, innovating instead of repetition, she needed to show that it hadn't been for nothing. Hadn't been just time wasted. If she could surprise him, confuse him, get under his skin then she had a chance. A miniscule one, but still a chance. Lucy had never said that using unregistered magic was against the rules had she? And despite the pain she felt okay, her mind was clear and focused, she knew her spell work was functioning as it should unlike in the previous round. Potter could push her to do her best. She just had to let him. So she smiled, spat blood and beckoned him on.

He wasted no time, throwing a spell at her that she knew was more powerful than any she had faced so far, could feel the vibrations in the air, could feel the charge all around the arena. She focused completely and singularly on the jet of light hurtling towards her. A split second before it was about to hit, she made her move. A cloud of smoke billowed in front of her, masking her from the view of all. Gasps from the crowd, they thought this was it. But when the smoke subsided, Elle was revealed smirking and very much unharmed. She looked across to Potter who's confused expression made her chuckle. He tried again, same result. Looked at him again. Same confused expression. Then she flicked her wand and two jets of light appeared from nowhere and hit him square in the chest and he was thrown backwards, rebounding off the shield charm into a heap on the sand. He recovered quickly but was grimacing in pain. As he blocked another attack he gave her a nod of appreciation. He knew what she'd done. Somehow she'd vanished the spells sent at her, a previously unheard of move, and then had somehow manipulated them so that they would reappear shooting towards him. It was a ridiculous feat of magic, had Scorpius Malfoy's fingerprints all over it. Brilliant. Game on. And they continued.

Elle wished she could have said that that little performance had signalled a change in the tide, but in truth, half an hour later, Potter was still very much on top. But she was holding her own, just. No-one had thought she would last this long but she had and she was drawing the crowd in with her unpredictable display. She'd pretty much abandoned any textbook magic, except for shield charms, and she was wowing the crowd with her creativity. They were seeing her throw spells that no-one had ever seen before, new forms of magic that occasionally transcended belief. But it came at a price and she was getting hit more and more as the match went on. Ten minutes later and the decline began. She felt her body crumbling around her, unable to keep up with the mind that was still turning. Her spells were becoming weaker, easier to block, her shields were becoming penetrable, his attacks were becoming fiercer. Within five minutes the inevitable happened and she was thrown across the arena with such force that she actually lost consciousness for a few precious seconds when she landed. Attempted to shake it off, but it was of little use.

She saw Albus advancing, attempted to raise her wand but her arm wouldn't move. She sighed and coughed. She was beat. But as she lay there expecting the blow… nothing. Instead a voice in her head. Albus Potter.

"_Please, Eleonora, just submit. Don't make me do this, don't make me hurt you more than I have already. Throw your wand and end it."_

He was in her head. She knew he was trying to be compassionate, trying to finish this without more pain, but she felt the rage flow through her more than she knew was possible. He was in her head. Her mind. Her space. No-one was allowed there without permission, no-one was allowed to take that liberty. No-one. She knew that Albus felt the rage, but he was too slow to react for once. She screamed, loud as banshee, and slashed her wand with all her strength, Albus was thrown backwards, and suddenly the tables were turned and she was in his head.

_Snatches flashed by her as she probed in fury. Saw a younger Albus, a first year by the looks, being pushed over by his brother who was laughing all they way. The taunts of 'weakling' ringing all around. Then a zoom forward, an older him, surrounded by trees and kneeling alone, tear tracts down his face. Another, Christmas, him opening a present and reading the tag 'Sorry I couldn't be there, lots of love Dad x'. Time rushing past her again, backwards this time, a dark bedroom…._

She screamed again, this time in agony as she felt her mind under counter attack from Albus. Could feel him everywhere, in every memory. Lily standing in the moonlight, pale and upset. An upturned table in the chamber of secrets, Scorpius and her staring daggers at each other. A smashed mirror. A younger her, sat on a shaking windowsill watching trains go by and by and by. Her writhing in pleasure on a bedspread as a girl grinned up at her from between her legs. A white beach, wand in pieces on the sand. Falling, always falling. Full of excitement as she jumped onto the Hogwarts Express for the first time. Under a desk in the Ministry full of fear. More fear. Crumpled against the wall as a large man advanced on her….

"NO!" she yelled as she fought back with everything she had.

_Rushing forward yet again, Lily in tears in the corner of the Three Broomsticks, the family all around her. 'It's not true is it Lils?', 'don't listen to that bitch', 'Death Eaters, both of them'. But Albus knew the truth. Now he was kissing someone, couldn't tell who, but she felt his contentment at the world. It faded and was quickly replaced by horror as they shot back. A dark bedroom….._

Yet again she was dragged forcibly away, but this time it was different. She had no strength left in her now. She was utterly and completely drained. She could feel it as he searched her mind yet again, could feel it as he came to the inner circle. Came to the round room with the four doors, her darkest secrets and memories. Tried desperately one last time to shut him out, but it was no use. Felt him hesitate as he reached out to open the door. But then he pushed and she was laid bare to him. She was with him as they watched it unfurl, watched the horror, the awfulness. She re-lived it every step of the way, re-lived the terror and the pain. Re-lived the anger. He was watching this. Albus was watching. Felt the shame, the embarrassment, the sheer rage.

With one final push that she hadn't thought was within her, she threw Potter out of the room and out of her mind.

_A dark bedroom, a small boy curled up next to an even smaller girl under the covers, both shaking and sobbing. Anguished screams heard from the next room, most incomprehensible but some could be made, Sirius, Riddle, Remus. A woman's voice attempting to soothe to no avail. An almighty crash. A mothers scream. A young mans shout. A grown mans tears. And Albus Potter and Lily Potter crying under a duvet. And then his present day voice, defeated, faint, but clear. _

'_Okay. You win.' _

She'd won.

* * *

Silence. She dragged herself to her feet and looked across the sand. Albus was lying on the floor, unconsciousness, wand three feet away from his hand. She staggered over to his unmoving body and kicked his wand away from him. The klaxon sounded. Then silence. She looked out at the crowd, shock, disbelief, everything. Then she limped over to her house, stood in front of them alone and victorious. Silence. She gazed at them. Lucy Weasley had finally recovered and her voice rang through the silence.

"SLYTHERIN WIN. ELEONORA JAGO WINS."

Still silence. Eleonora spat a mouthful of blood on the floor again and then with a huge effort raised her arms and let out a guttural, savage and triumphant roar. And just like that, it clicked. This wasn't a trick. This had actually happened. She'd actually won. The Slytherin stands went wild with cheers, shouting her name, taunting the Gryffindor's. And there she stood, arms raised and victorious. She sought Scorpius but he was nowhere to be seen. Saw Edwards grinning at her, but she was too exhausted to even be pissed off at him.

As she looked at him, it all came crashing down on her. The weight of what she'd just achieved felt like nothing compared to how her body felt. Totally wrecked. She was emotionally and physically at breaking point and she needed to leave. She needed to be alone. Well, maybe not alone. She couldn't be here. She needed to go somewhere. Somewhere she had thought she'd never need to go to again. The rest of her house could celebrate. Pretend that this had changed something. It was with a sinking inevitability then that just as she turned to stagger out, she was collared by Lucy Weasley shoving a microphone in her face.

"Well, what a shock!" Lucy said for all to hear as the crowd went silent. "I don't think any of us expected that. You came in as the underdog, no-one really gave you a realistic chance so tell us Eleonora, just how did you do it? How did you win?"

Elle looked out at the crowd again, across to the Gryffindor's. Saw Rose and Tommy. Saw Lily. Leaned into the microphone.

"I beat the other guy."

And with that, she limped away from Lucy Weasley, away from the crowds, away from the arena and out the door. She was going home.

* * *

She materialised out of thin air with a pop in a dark and damp room. Mops and brooms, bleach and weed killer. Forced the door open and was out in the grey and drab open square. Home. She looked around at the brutalist architecture, the imposing high rises, the punched out lights, the graffitied bus stop. The whole place gave off a dangerous vibe. This was the home of the forgotten, the ones that the city spat out to make room for the better spoken, the more wealthy, the more civilised. Herded them in like cattle and left them to rot. And it was where she came from. Looked across at the vandalised park in the middle of the courtyard where she and the other estate kids would be found every day. That park was where she'd made her first friend, smoked her first cigarette, her first spliff, had her first kiss, her first everything really. They were simple times. She had always remembered it how it had been in the summer, everything seems brighter when you're a kid. The holidays longer, the days fuller. But now in her eyes it was grey and decrepit, cold and distant. Winter darkness.

She brought herself out of her musings and headed off towards the far building, the 116 as it was known. She had done her best with her injuries but she was still hurting all over. Her right eye was swollen and she walked with a limp. The cold was whistling through her, she felt as if she was transparent as it chilled her to the core. She reached the tower eventually, glancing up at it's imposing face. Hundreds packed in there, a different story behind every door. She made her way into the 'lobby' moving over towards the lifts that looked barely functional. In fact they weren't, out of order sign scrawled on a bit of paper taped to the doors. The stairs it was then. Felt a sharp pain in her left leg as if it knew what was coming and was giving its protest. She ignored it and carried on.

The floors passed in a painful blur, four, seven, ten, eleven, seventeen. Memories punctuating every single one of them. She had to catch her breath on the nineteenth. Only four more to go. She grimaced and hauled herself off the wall she had been leaning on and continued. She barely noticed the woman coming the opposite way to her, just brushed past her without saying anything. She didn't want to be seen, but it wasn't to be.

"Laura? Good grief is that you?"

Elle froze briefly before continuing on.

"Think you've got the wrong person love" she replied, but her legs were weak and she collapsed against the wall, the woman rushing back up the stairs to steady her.

"Let me help you dear," she held on to Elle, span her round so they were facing each other and looked her straight in the eye. "It is you. Laura Steele, in the flesh! Don't you remember me Laura? Pauline Harper, Jason's mum? Come on Laura, you and him were thick as thieves back in the day. You were always round ours making a mess. What have you done to your hair anyway? And have you been fighting? Those cuts look nasty. It's a shock seeing you, you just disappeared all those years ago, your Dad never mentioned you and I didn't want to ask. Know what he's like, the amount of times you were crying on my front doorstep….. Laura, you ok? Laura!"

"Stop!" Elle managed to force out. "Please stop."

"Of course dear, silly old me prattling on. That's why the last fella left me you know, though truth be told he wasn't up to much to be honest. Our Jason didn't like him either, never warmed to him when he came out of young offenders. Silly bugger got caught nicking a Ford Focus. Stupid boy. But this bloke, glad to be shot of him really, but it knocks your confidence you know? How about you Laura, caught yourself a fella yet, pretty girl like you although I'm not sure about the hair…"

"There is someone," Elle breathed. "But please Ms Harper, I just need to get home."

"Home?"

"Back to my Dad's."

"Your Dad? Gosh did no-one tell you? Oh Lord, I am so sorry Laura. I can't believe you didn't hear. Not going to pretend I was sorry to hear about it, but still, it was your father…"

"What are you talking about Pauline?" Elle snapped, cutting the woman off with a growing sense of dread. Pauline paused and looked at her with sad eyes.

"Your Dad dear. Laura I'm so sorry but he's dead."

* * *

When the girl christened Laura Steele looked back on the moment those words hit her in the years to come, the abiding memory was that of confusion. Not in the sense of how he could be dead, she accepted it straight away without hesitation. She thought part of her must have already known. No, it was confusion in the sense that she was feeling so many conflicting emotions that she didn't know which were real and which were not. Joy, fear, elation, relief, anger, sadness, pain, hate, love, indifference. She had no idea which to feel, which one would win out. He was dead. Michael Steele was dead. Her father was dead.

"How did it happen?" Elle asked quietly when she realised Pauline had been staring at her for minutes with a worried expression.

"Um… I'm not sure I'm the best person to tell it Laura…"

"Elle," she cut across. "That's what everyone calls me now. Eleonora. Not Laura."

"You changed it? But Laura's such a lovely name…" she paused when she saw Elle's expression. "Oh well, what's in a name anyway? Eleonora ey? Beautiful, and it rhymes I guess…."

"How did it happen Pauline. How did he die?" Elle repeated impatiently.

"He um…. Well he um…"

"Pauline!"

"He hung himself in the flat." she revealed finally, looking down at her shoes.

Elle paused for a moment, then for some reason she didn't fully understand she began to laugh. Occasional snorts soon turning into full blooded cackles. Pauline looking at her like she was mental, making her laugh even harder.

"Oh Jesus," she breathed out, her ribs aching from the laughter and her injuries. "Typical fucking Dad…."

"Are you okay Lau… sorry, Eleonora?"

"I don't know," she choked out. "Fucking Michael eh? Typical Michael Steele, can't even die without making it all about him. The fucking _cunt_."

"Well," Pauline pursed her lips. "I don't like to speak ill of the dead, but he was a wrong un your father. Whatever he went through in the army, that was no excuse for his behaviour. You being carted off every other week by the social…. But as I said, I don't like to be disrespectful to those who've passed."

"Oh, feel free," Elle muttered, her laughter ebbing away. "Christ, I'm an orphan. Literally no-one left. Fucking hell."

"I can't believe you didn't know. But I suppose if you changed your name then it would have been difficult. No-one knew where you went, most had probably forgotten he even had a daughter. I'm sorry Laura.."

"Eleonora."

"Right, Eleonora. I'm sorry no-one told you, sorry you had to find out on the bloody stairs."

"Not your fault," Elle reassured her. "To be honest, I never wanted to see him again. I made it so that he couldn't find me, not that he'd ever try to."

"Why tonight then? What the change?" Pauline questioned.

"Something happened tonight … I saw something … well let's just say I needed to see him one last time. For me. But he's even taken that away from me, the fucking prick."

There was another pregnant pause, Elle knew that this woman who'd been kind to her when she was a child didn't know how to deal with this situation. Fair enough. She remembered her son, Jason, a cheeky lad who was always getting in trouble. Didn't surprise her that he'd done some time inside. Nicking a Ford Focus? Yeah, stupid boy. Pauline was a good woman, but she wasn't equipped for all this. Elle felt sorry for her, she was right, she shouldn't have been the one to tell her.

"Hey, Pauline, the flat, our old one, is there anyone in it? Did they sell it?"

"Oh no. Far as I know it ain't been touched. Backlogs at the council apparently."

"Right okay. Thanks Pauline, I'm gonna take a look."

"Here I'll help you up…"

"No. Don't worry, I feel fine. You've done enough. Really, thanks for everything. Not just tonight but, you know, everything else when I was a kid."

"I wish I could have done more Laura," she sighed sadly, Elle ignoring the use of the name she left behind six years ago. "I probably should have…."

"No. Not your fault. Just his. All his fault." Elle stated firmly.

"I suppose. Well take care of yourself. You remember where I live if you need anything. I mean it."

"I appreciate it." Elle nodded and watched as the woman gave her a soft smile and began down the steps.

"Hey Pauline!" she called her back. "Can you not tell anyone I was here? Laura Steele doesn't exist anymore and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Of course. But Laura, this is where you come from, who you are. You can't change that, can't change who you really are whatever you go round calling yourself."

With that Pauline Harper turned and carried on down the stairs, never to see Laura Steele again.

* * *

Elle staggered up the final set of stairs and came face to face with the familiar red front door. It flooded back to her, all the memories. She felt that lingering sense of dread that was clearly ingrained in her DNA every time she faced this door. Because she was afraid even though there was nothing to fear in there anymore. He was dead. Michael Steele was dead. Her father was dead. She pushed through the door and stepped into the empty flat of her childhood.

Only she wasn't alone.

"Hello Elle. Or is it Laura?"

"Scorpius?"

She lit her wand to illuminate the room, revealing Scorpius sat rigidly on the sofa looking straight at her. And then it all slotted into place. And then she knew.

"Laura Steele," he said into the silence. "That's your real name."

She'd never told him. Never told anyone. No-one knew in this world. Just a portrait. She remembered it well, the office, the memory charm, the old man with twinkling eyes.

"Yes."

"Okay." he nodded.

"I suppose my lie pales in comparison to yours doesn't it?" Elle said, her tone calm but her body shaking from within.

"You've worked it out then? You always were sharper than everyone else." he praised, his eyes unreadable.

"I need to hear you say it. He didn't hang himself did he?"

He ignored her, just got up and began to walk around the room.

"So, this is where you grew up?" Scorpius asked, looking at her with what she thought was pity. She hated that.

"Yeah," she shot back defiantly. "Got a problem? Not quite up to the Manor I suppose but not all of us can be latchkeyed rich boys."

"I'm not judging," Scorpius replied calmly. "You were spectacular today by the way."

"I got lucky." Elle dismissed. Because she had. Potter should have beaten her. He should have finished it. Shouldn't have left himself open for that crucial split second.

"Perhaps," Scorpius conceded. "But some of the things you did out there… It was quite something."

"I did what I had to do." Elle waved him away. It wasn't important, not now. This stupid and petty rivalry, this stupid world they lived in wasn't important. He was dead. Michael Steele was dead. Her father was dead.

She lit a cigarette, wincing as she inhaled, and faced Scorpius.

"So, shall we stop pretending now? I need to hear you say it," she repeated. "And I need the whole story. From the start."

"Okay."

The silence stretched on and on. She waited expectantly, but he made no move to speak.

"Come on Scorpius say it!" she hissed at him. "Say it, my father….."

"I killed him," Scorpius cut her off, ice through his voice. "I fucking killed him Elle. I killed your Dad."

He was dead.

Michael Steele was dead.

Her father was dead.

Scorpius Malfoy had killed him.


	20. One In Four

_"For a while, you're invincible." - Scorpius Malfoy_

* * *

**A year and three months earlier …**

"No, no, no! Come on Elle, focus!"

"You try focusing with someone literally inside your mind," the blonde grumbled as she picked herself off the floor yet again.

Scorpius sighed. Always so difficult. It's probably why out of everyone he'd ever met, she was the only one who he'd stuck with. Five years now she'd been his friend, partner, confidante. And she could still surprise him. That's what he liked most. She was a mess, a terrible and beautiful mess. So was he. They fit together perfectly, two sides of the same coin. The same appetite for real knowledge, not the shit they taught you in this castle, same appetite for danger, the need to be reckless, to live faster and harder than everyone else, to never waste a second. Yeah, but she was fucking difficult.

"Look," he began exasperatedly. "You asked for this, I didn't recommend it. You wanted these occlumency lessons, you insisted I taught you. So don't complain about it."

"Purple." she said.

"Sorry, what?" Scorpius replied confused.

"Purple," she repeated. "My hair. I'm thinking of going purple this time, what do you think?"

He sighed again. Always so difficult.

"For fuck sake Elle! If you don't want to do this then don't. Stop wasting both our time. And seriously, purple? What's next, fucking obscure poetry, huge glasses, stickers on your boots? I'm not hanging out with a hipster."

"You are so easy to wind up." she grinned back at him.

"You're impossible." he shot back, but this time he was smiling.

"Ah, you love it oh pale one. Seriously we should do something about that. Tenerife this year?"

"I'd rather kiss Rose Weasley."

"So would I …" Elle mischievously grinned again.

"Well, looks like you're out of luck. She's just got together with Tommy Finnegan."

Elle looked at him with a huge smile.

"What is this, Gossip Girl?" she mocked. "How do you even know that, no, more importantly _why _do you know that useless piece of information? You keeping your ear to the ground? So, I heard that Zabini wants to fuck Gonzales and Toby Jones is like totally in love with Chang…"

"Alright, alright you made your point. I just heard it in passing is all. Some fourth year was spouting off in the corridor about it. Brown haired girl, think it might be her cousin or something."

"Nah, all Weasley's are as orange as … well, a fucking orange."

"Probably right, anyway, I know what you're doing Elle." Scorpius got shrewdly back to business.

"Just having some pretty weak 'banter' with Casper the gossiping ghost. What about Morocco? I've always wanted to go there…."

Scorpius looked at her with a serious expression. He knew what was going on here. He'd not been surprised when she had come to him last week to ask if he'd teach her how to close her mind. Knew she suffered with nightmares, had slept in the same room often enough to know that, and he knew they were getting worse. When she starting sleeping in the Chamber, that was when things got bad. He'd asked her about them before, but she'd closed off, the shutters coming down on her eyes like a shop closing for the days business. Made her excuses and changed the subject. And this was the problem right now. Scorpius knew occlumency, knew how to work and manipulate the mind, how it all fitted together. He was an expert, only James Potter was as capable as him at it in this castle. The boy was a fucking twat, an average wizard with a wand in his hand and a considerably worse chaser than he believed himself to be, but in terms of the mind he was a master. Could mask anything if he chose to. He just didn't. He wanted his anger and hate for the Slytherin's to be there for all to see. But the few times it had just been the two of them, face to face with no-one around, Potter had been able to hide everything from Scorpius' attacks. It was, although it pained him to admit it, impressive.

The problem here was that in order to learn how to lock the door, you had to unlock it first. Elle was so far unwilling to do that. To teach her properly, he needed total access, total freedom to go to the darkest corners of her mind. The four doors. He needed to go through them. He didn't want to, had suspicions of what he would see. But if she wanted to master this magic then he would have to. It was up to her.

"Listen Elle," he began as tactfully as he could. "This is it now. I'm not gonna waste our time anymore. If you want to really learn then you're going to have to let me in completely. Every time it's the same. We begin, you fight, you do well, I break you down and then I come to a room with four doors. Then you collapse. You purposefully stop the training and throw me out."

"Well that's a good thing isn't it?" she argued. "That's the whole point. I'm supposed to be blocking you out."

"Yes, but you're not doing it through any level of skill or control," he explained patiently. "It's just an emotional reaction. A strong one, but still. Every other part of your mind I can break down pretty much at will, although you are doing well. I need to be able to get in there Elle, it's the only way you'll learn fully and completely without leaving it to chance."

Elle turned away from him and lit a cigarette, moving over towards the glass case in the corner of the room which housed the inanimate figure. Tapped a couple of times on the glass. Scorpius waited. He didn't have to wait long as his best friend spoke up in a voice he didn't recognize, had never thought he'd hear coming from her. Small and fearful.

"It's … hard Scorpius. Too hard …."

"If it's too much then we can walk away now. But my advice Elle? I've heard you screaming in the night, Parkinson says you haven't slept in your dorm since the time three weeks ago when you woke up screaming. It's no way to live, you can't go through life fearing the bed sheets, fearing the night. It'll break you, I can promise you that. Not today, not tomorrow, but at some point. So I think you should let me in."

Elle was silent again. Scorpius knew he needed to say more.

"How about this," he began to suggest, moving close to her so he could look her straight in the eye. "I'll only need to go through one of them, one of the doors. One memory, that's it. I can teach you with that. And once it's over, I'll never bring it up again, never speak of it. I promise you. It'll just be in our minds and eventually it'll fade away…"

"Not this," Elle cut him off with sad eyes. "Not this."

"It's your decision Elle," he soothed. "Yours only."

* * *

"_One door, I presume your name change is behind one of the others? That's why I never knew. I mean I saw other memories from you as a kid but I never noticed it. Thought they were calling you 'Nora' or something I suppose. I knew your Dads surname was Steele, but I thought you just used your mums. What's behind the others Elle? Those other doors? What could possibly be as bad as what I saw?"_

"_Maybe one day I might have told you. But not now. Not after this."_

* * *

"Last chance Elle, are you sure about this?"

Elle looked back at him with the look of sheer determination that he knew so well. She was the bravest person he knew, the best person he knew.

"I'm sure," she nodded grimly. "But are you sure I can't choose the door?"

"Positive," Scorpius apologised. "Even you yourself don't know which memories behind which door. It'll be random, a game of chance."

"Not a game. Alright then, well whatever you see promise me it won't change anything. Promise me it stays in this room, in this moment."

"I promise."

"Let's do it."

Scorpius hesitated only a moment before he raised his wand and proceeded to dive into her brain. It was harder than it had been before as he dove past memories he had already seen, some involving him but most were of things that had happened before they had met. Saw her as a child running around a grey and drab slab of a park, summer days and winter ones. It was a strain though, she was fighting him back, attempting to throw him out again. That was fine. After a couple of minutes, he gave one last big push and found himself in the familiar room. Four doors. Only this time it was more than a fleeting glimpse. She was letting him in. He looked at the doors, curiosity threatening to get the better of him until he shook himself out of this. He'd made the promise. One door. One in four. He saw the one opposite, the numbers 116 painted onto it, scrawled in red. Took a deep breath and pushed through.

Scorpius Malfoy thought he knew evil, knew darkness. At such a young age he'd already seen and even done things that most would consider unforgivable. But he realised as he watched that he'd never really had a clue. He watched it all. Watched the person he loved most in this world utterly helpless and broken. Saw the light in her eyes go out. And saw him, that monster. He saw everything.

* * *

"_To see you like that … to see him …. It fucking broke my heart. And I don't mean metaphorically. It felt like my heart was literally being pulled apart. I felt the pain, the anger, everything."_

* * *

He couldn't do it anymore. With a huge effort, he wrenched himself away and shot back through the door, through the corridor, through her memories backwards, before he was out. He collapsed onto the floor, breathing heavily. And then, he snapped.

He went on a rampage of chaos, smashing up the chamber. Dangerous potions they'd been working on for months were spilled everywhere as he threw cauldrons across the room. He punched a mirror, punched himself, took it out on everything he could see. The tears were stinging. He'd never known anger like it. Never known the purity of rage.

"Scorpius?"

And then, a hand on his back. A scared voice. Eleonora. His rage evaporated and he suddenly felt so ashamed of himself. Because this wasn't about him. Here he was, smashing everything in sight when his best friend, who this had actually happened to had watched on. He'd been an observer, a disgusting voyeur, but that had actually happened to her. It actually happened. This wasn't about him.

"I'm sorry." he breathed out.

"It's alright, most of those potions were shit anyway."

"That's not what I'm sorry about."

"I know." Elle whispered softly as she wrapped her arms around him.

They stayed like that for a moment, neither really knowing what to say next. What could you say next? What could you possibly say after that.

After a while, Scorpius came to a decision. It stays in this room, nothing changes, that's what Elle had wanted. So that's what he was going to give to her. He couldn't change what had happened, but he could change her future, help her to close her mind to the nightmares, stop her relieving it when she closed her eyes. This wasn't about him.

"Okay, we go again." he said in an as business like and normal tone he could muster, unwrapping himself from Elle and going to pick up his wand.

"What?" Elle stammered, shocked.

"You heard me, we go again. This time I want you to focus, completely focus. Shut every faucet of emotion off. Cut it all off. Separate yourself from the reality and turn it back on me. Got it?"

She nodded.

"Good. We go again. And then again and again until you've got this. Wand up. Three, two, one, go!"

* * *

"_Over and over again I saw it that night. And I saw you have to re-live it over and over. It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do."_

* * *

Scorpius let out a long breath as he sat down on the sofa in the Chamber. Elle had just left to get some air, wanted to be alone. He could understand that. She'd improved vastly over the course of one evening, but days more, maybe even weeks more were needed. He shuddered at the thought. Tried to distract himself for a while but he was too angry and ended up just pacing around the room, chain smoking and cursing under his breath. Pure hate. He'd never known it before, but now? Now it consumed him.

And then, it just happened. There was no thought process to it, no inner debate, no questions asked. He just decided. As soon as the idea pierced his brain, he knew he was going to do it. He was going to hurt that man like he'd hurt Elle. Hurt him like he'd never been hurt before. He knew where to go. Knew where she came from, knew to look for those numbers, the 116. It was all so easy for him.

Scorpius stubbed his cigarette out and pulled his coat on, movements mechanical. He exited the Chamber calmly, ascending back into the castle. He moved among the pre dinner crowd like a ghost drifting through. His thoughts were singular and focused. Hurt. He barely heard his name being called, the voice getting louder and louder, closer and closer.

"Malfoy … hey Malfoy wait up!"

Rufus Edwards appeared beside him clutching his side and out of breath.

"Didn't you hear me? I was shouting for ages."

Scorpius made no move to slow, no move to respond to the boy. He just carried on.

"You okay Malfoy?" the boy asked, again getting no response. "Well look, I just wanted to let you know about a meeting tonight in the Slytherin common room. The first Unity meeting. It would be great if you could come along and show support for the cause. Enough is enough don't you think? Malfoy … Malfoy!"

Scorpius sighed and looked across at the boy.

"Just fuck off Edwards before I hex you into next week. And fuck your meeting. Fuck Unity. Fuck Slytherin."

With that he carried on, reaching the doors, going out into the courtyard, into Hogsmeade and into the night.

* * *

"_You know, I'd totally forgotten I'd seen him that night until today. Rufus I mean. He was different then, all wide eyed and innocent. He must have followed me. No idea how, tracking spell perhaps. Schoolboy error on my part, but I was distracted to be fair."_

"_Yes, going off to kill someone can make you a little absent minded I suppose."_

"_I didn't go to kill him."_

"_Well that didn't work out very well did it?"_

* * *

He faced the door. The red door. There had been no hesitation leading up to this moment and that wasn't about to change now. After a quick look around he drew his wand and wordlessly waved it, the click of the lock sounding against the silent night. He pushed through into the flat.

Piss, that's the first thing he smelt. The whole place reeked of it, piss and neglect. He could hear the sound of the television blaring and the sound of loud obnoxious snores coming from the room on his right. He waded through the mountain of post on the hall carpet and came face to face with Michael Steele for the first time.

He took a moment to look at him as he obliviously slept. The flickering television shone ever changing light in his face. Scorpius had only seen this man distorted, through a memory, saw him at his worst, but now as he slept he seemed peaceful. His face was probably handsome before the drink had taken hold, before the neglect. His hair was straggly and long, unkempt and dirty blonde. Deep sleep. The rage was building. Here was a man enjoying the very thing he had denied his daughter. This terrible man deserved everything Scorpius was about to give him.

He could wait no longer and it began. He pointed his wand and suddenly Michael Steele was yanked upwards hoisted by his ankle. He was awake immediately, looking round with bleary shock upside down until his eyes rested on Scorpius and his wand.

"What the fuck are you doing to me boy?" he spat, although Scorpius could see the glaze of alcohol behind his eyes. He said nothing for a moment.

"Crucio." he muttered gently and the flat was filled with the mans screams. Scorpius quickly cast a silencing charm around them, didn't want the neighbours to hear. He planned to be here for a long while yet.

"Jesus, fucking jesus …." Michael gasped as the pain abated. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing to me?"

"Crucio."

More screams. Scorpius felt more alive than ever, more powerful than ever as he watched this man come apart in front of him. It wasn't just revenge and vindication. It was something else entirely, a different way to be. And he liked it.

"Please … please."

"Crucio."

He lit a cigarette as he watched with a malicious smile on his face. Again, the screams eventually died down.

"How does it feel to be truly helpless Michael?" Scorpius finally broke his silence. "How does it feel to be completely at the mercy of someone so much more powerful than yourself?"

Michael looked at him and the fear was still there, but now there was something else. Something dim. Lifeless. Scorpius realised that this man truly didn't care.

"I've seen the worst things a man could see," Michael spat at him. "I've seen friends die, children mutilated, everything. So you don't scare me son. I died in a desert a long time ago."

"Crucio."

Scorpius was shaking with rage now. He had so far been in control, but he wasn't sure how long he could keep it up.

"I've seen terrible things as well," Scorpius began as calmly as he could. "I've seen a friend, helpless to stop the man who's supposed to be her protector in this world do unspeakable things to her. And I've seen the man who did that. I've seen you. Your own daughter. You're going to pay for it now."

Michael Steele began to laugh, a throaty chuckle that soon turned into a hacking cough.

"Am I now? So how far are you going to go kid? You going to pop that cherry, kill me? It's easier than everyone says it is you know. A squeeze of a trigger, a flick of that stick whatever the hell it is. And then … nothing."

* * *

"_It's the thing that no-one tells you about murder see. Your father was right. The act itself of killing is as easy as turning a light on or off. As easy as lighting a cigarette. It's the bit that comes after that's the hard part."_

* * *

They were both silent for a moment, Michael breathing heavily and Scorpius keeping up his outwardly collected visage up.

"It's within you you know. I can see it in those eyes," Michael broke the silence with his slurrred, drunken voice. "The capability. I may be a monster, but you? You're something else entirely. I thought I'd seen the devil, looked him in the eye, but now I realise I was wrong. Cos it's you. You're death itself."

"Save the philosophical shit," Scorpius snorted. "No-one's impressed, who fucking talks like that? The devil? Nah mate, I'm just a boy who's friend you hurt."

"I'm not proud of what I did to her you know," Michael said in a remarkably flippant tone. "I know I was in the wrong. It's just …. "

"AVADA KEDAVRA!"

A flash of green and it was over as quick as it had began. Scorpius looked down his outstretched arm to his wand pointed straight ahead from which death had just shot. One tremble, then steady. Then he looked at the lifeless form of Michael Steele. He felt nothing. Nothing but satisfaction. He hadn't come here to kill the man, hadn't come here to take a life. But he had. The way the man had just dismissed Elle's suffering like he'd just forgotten her birthday or something. The way he was about to justify himself. No. He was not going to listen to it. So he killed him. And he felt fine.

He looked around quickly, assessing his options. He could hide the body somewhere, but it wasn't an ideal option. Missing person cases could go on for years. He'd disguise it, that's what he'd do. Disguise the scene. He looked around the flat for anything he could use. Saw a bit of rope, the kind people used for climbing, poking out from under the sofa. That would do. He'd string the bastard up. An alcoholic ex veteran? No-one would question it, no-one would challenge the suicide verdict. He'd be in the clear for sure. Worked quickly and methodically, levitating the body so the head slipped in the noose, magically securing it to the beam overhanging the kitchen. Stood back and admired his handiwork, the slow sway of the lifeless body moving from side to side as if propelled by a gentle breeze. And that was that.

* * *

"_You know, fucking Rufus summed it up best I think. He asked me how it felt, if it made me feel invincible. And that's exactly it. For a while, you're invincible. You've seen death, been responsible for it. To kill and then to get away with it? Fuck it's a rush Elle. And I know, I know how that makes me sound but it's the only way I can explain it, explain the sheer magnitude of it. But that doesn't last forever._

"_I don't regret doing it. I should have told you, but I don't regret it. I don't feel the guilt, don't feel the shame, don't feel anything really. He hurt you so I killed him. Simple as that. He hurt my friend. But sometimes, I see him, hear his screams, watch him sway. I deal with it, but it's hard. A small price to pay though I think. I did it for you, killed him for you. All for you."_

_Elle looked at him with disgusted eyes.  
_

"_Does telling yourself that you did it for me help you sleep a night?_ _You did it for yourself Scorpius, don't even try to pretend otherwise. Who the fuck do you think you are? Judge, jury and executioner? You think you can just deal death out like it's a pack of cards? No, we don't have that right, none of us do. You do not have that right. And as soon as one of us starts to think they do, that's when we lose ourselves and become what half this fucking world already thinks we are. Murderers, evil, Death Eaters. There has to be a line. That's what you said to me. But fuck if you ain't been crossing it for years now. And you do it cos you want to. So no Scorpius, you didn't do this for me, whatever you tell yourself. Everything you do is for yourself. It's just taken me six years to work that out._

"_And you know what's broke my heart the most? My father took my childhood from me, he took any chance of normality, any chance of happiness. And now he's taken you away from me. He's somehow managed to take the only person I care for away. Congratulations Dad. Congratulations Scorpius."_

"_I'm right here Elle, I'll always be right here."_

"_I don't fucking want you here Scorpius, don't you get that? I mean, what the hell did you expect?"_

* * *

With one last look back at what he'd done, Scorpius Malfoy closed the door behind him and strolled off through the night a changed man. A murderer. And he felt fine.


	21. In Technicolor

"_I should have seen it coming." - Lily Potter_

* * *

It had been stupid really. She should have realised that there wasn't a hope in hell of her getting any sleep tonight. Not just because of what had happened hours previously with Scorpius and his confession, but because of the extent of her injuries. Her body was a total wreck, the smallest of movements caused her to groan loudly in pain and she didn't have the energy to brew any healing potions. It had never been one of her strong points anyway, Malfoy was better at this kind of thing ….

Scorpius Malfoy. Killer. Could it have ended any other way? Was there ever any doubt that one day he'd do something like this? Elle didn't know. She didn't fully understand her complex feelings on the matter yet. It would take days, maybe weeks to sort through her emotions, days and weeks of fluctuating thoughts. Of course, she had always known that this was a possibility. Death. It was the topic that all geniuses wanted to understand, they had been no different. They had an Inferious in their workshop for god sake. No, what worried her the most were some of his words. 'Invincible'. 'Rush'. And the worst. 'I did it for you.' It starts off small, starts off as one. You're doing the world a favour. He was a bad man. Then there's another, still a bad man but slightly less so. And another and another until you're scraping around for reasons why, justifications for your actions. That's how murder works. And to get away with it? For a while, you think yourself invincible.

The grief so far wasn't for her father. To be honest, if she'd seen him tonight it may well have been her soul torn apart, staring down at a lifeless form after a flash of green light. The thought had crossed her mind. No the grief was much bigger than that, it was for herself. And it was for Scorpius. The boy he was, the man he was now. She was furious at the lies, couldn't believe he'd laughed with her, joked with her, all the while knowing that he'd killed Michael Steele in cold blood. Of course it all made sense now. The uneasy looks whenever her father was brought up in conversation, her potion and his refusal to let her carry it on, always finding an excuse, knowing that she'd come to the truth if allowed. Lies upon lies upon lies.

She was no better, she knew that. Laura Steele, her real name. She'd never told him. She'd kept things from him, not as terrible yes, but still important things. She remembered the conversation with the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, remembered the day Laura Steele died. It was McGonagall who'd found her in the streets of Hackney to deliver the life changing news that she was a witch, that she belonged to another world. Had tried to find her at the flat in the 116, but even at the age of ten Laura spent as little time there as possible, and McGonagall eventually caught up with her on the market stalls. Some of the traders used to slip the kids a few quid to steal from the competition stalls. She remembered the stern expression peering down at her from behind glasses as she attempted to make off with a couple of football scarves. 'Stealing will not be tolerated at Hogwarts' blah, blah, blah. Initially, Laura had taken the old Scottish woman for a headcase, you got plenty of them around where she spent her days. That or some kind of scam, somebody running yet more game. McGonagall had wanted to go back to the flat to talk, but she wasn't about to give her address to someone who'd just caught her nicking. So she just came out with it right there, 'you're a witch', 'magic', 'Hogwarts', 'scholarship'. As she thought. Mental. Was about to tell her to go fuck herself when she was proved wrong and her world changed forever.

It was the first time she'd seen magic. It was funny, she never really noticed the signs in herself. No making sparks out of nothing, no telekinesis, nothing. Looking back, she supposed it was there. She never got caught stealing despite the fact she should have been at least half a dozen times. Things didn't hurt her as much as they did the other kids. Yeah, it was there. It was just a simple levitation that turned her world on it's head, McGonagall doing it in the middle of the street, no-one noticing. So she agreed to go with her. Had insisted on seeing the castle immediately, that very day. She wasn't about to just board a train with no idea where she was going. And then, the office. The portrait. The conversation when the headmistress left the room briefly. The idea planted. And McGonagall's own wand lying unattended on the desk. Her return, and then two spells, told by the old man. Point your wand and say this. And Laura Steele was dead. Eleonora Jago was born.

She hadn't thought about that in a long time before tonight. And she didn't want to think of it again. Michael and Laura Steele were both dead now. Scorpius Malfoy and Eleonora Jago had killed them.

She winced in pain again. It was no good. She was in her dorm with the curtains closed on her bed, silence and shield charms around her blocking out the Slytherin house celebrations. She allowed herself in that moment what she had been denying herself since it happened. A swell of pride, a pat on the back. She'd duelled Albus Potter and she'd won. But thinking about it made the pain worse. No, this was useless. She needed some relief, needed some potions, maybe a sleeping draught. She groaned at the thought of having to stagger to the hospital wing in this state. But she'd have to. Dragged herself up, limbs screaming at her to lie back down, but she pushed herself across towards the door. Cast a disillusionment charm and made her way through the party stragglers. Some students passed out drunk or high or both. Some shagging in the darkened corners. It was Elle's scene if she didn't feel so fucking terrible.

* * *

She pushed the door to the hospital wing open quietly. It was a full moon so the room was illuminated by it's soft glow. Only the one bed occupied tonight. She moved across to the store cupboard quick as she could and found some things she needed, some things she didn't. She took them anyway. Necked a pain relief and a pepper up potion one after the other, sighing in relief as her body seemed to loosen from the inside. She still ached, it still hurt, but this she could manage. Put the remaining potions in her bag and turned to set off, before she was stopped dead in her tracks.

Lily Potter, curled up like a cat, sound asleep on an armchair next to a bed. Albus. Lying prone, exhaustion written across every inch of him. She moved closer, careful not to make a noise, so she could see his face better. He looked troubled as he slept, his face screwed up, the occasional moan. Looked back at Lily and smiled softly at the crease in her forehead as she frowned slightly in her sleep. It was cute, and Elle hated the fact she had just used the word cute even in her inner monologue, but she couldn't describe it any other way. She may well have it bad for this girl. And that realisation made her sad.

"I would offer to shake your hand in congratulations, but I apparently can't move my arms." Albus wheezed out, causing Elle to jump slightly.

"You should listen to old Poppy and keep them still." she replied, recovering quickly.

"She said nothing about my arms, it's the nervous system that's making the rules," he chuckled slightly before shuffling himself backwards so he was almost sitting up. "So, no gloating Elle? No mockery of my family and our flaws? No Gryffindor pussy comments? No making me feel sexually uncomfortable?"

Elephants in the room.

"Relax Potter, I left my slam book in the dungeons." she grinned at him, couldn't be bothered to fight again. Took a seat on the other side of the bed to Lily. Albus saw her looking at his sister.

"I've told her to go," he said quietly, suddenly conscious that they weren't alone. "Not doing any good there. But she wouldn't, wouldn't leave me. Maybe worried that you'd come back and finish the job." he attempted to joke.

"Well, now that you mention it ….."

Elephants in the room. Three of them.

"Very funny. Well done today Eleonora. I'll probably be the only Gryffindor to say that to you but I mean it sincerely. Some of the things you did today were amazing. Incredible."

"You'll make me blush," Elle deadpanned. "Anyway, we both know I wouldn't have won if you weren't such a pussy. All that 'throw your wand Elle and end it'? Come on Potter."

"You looked like you were about to die, I was trying to be compassionate. But it was pretty stupid now I look back."

"Any other day, you'd have beaten me." Elle attempted to agree.

"There's only ever this day. And this day, you were better. You won."

"I should have got that on tape." she laughed before feeling that familiar craving. But for some reason, she was reluctant to leave their conversation here. Don't get her wrong, this wasn't going to be the start of some beautiful friendship, they would go back to being enemies tomorrow, but tonight she wanted someone to talk to, to spar with, to help her forget.

"Come on then Potter, let's go to the balcony. I need a smoke and as it's two in the morning you seem to be the only company available to me."

"Such a charmer. Levitate me into that wheelchair there would you?"

She did as asked and then wheeled him out onto the balcony that overlooked where the Quidditch field used to be. Elle lit a sneaky spliff, told herself it was to help her injuries, offered it to Albus who just nodded at his arms.

"Not working remember?"

"I crippled you good didn't I?" she mocked but there was no sneer in her voice. "So tell me Potter, your house took a hit tonight. How are the Gryffindor's going to spin their way out of this one?"

They shared a small smile aimed at the ridiculousness of the situation in which they lived. Elle was beginning to believe that Potter really was as bored of it all, as disgusted by all of them as he had claimed.

"I'll think of something," he replied before he narrowed his eyes. "So tell me Eleonora, how come Malfoy wasn't the one to beat me today? Edwards pull the wool over your eyes, pull the old switcheroo?"

"You want the truth or the party line?"

"I've a feeling I'm going to get the party line."

"Correct. It was always supposed to be me. Malfoy was never involved. That was just a smokescreen to surprise you."

"And the truth?"

"What does the truth matter in this fucking castle?" Elle shot at him. "Everything we're taught, everything we're told about our history, is just a set of lies agreed upon by those on your side. So this duel is going to go down in history how I want it to. And then that'll become the truth."

"Ah, so I'll go down in history as The Boy Who Lost? Not quite the same ring to it." Albus chuckled.

"Not my fault. First rule of duelling, you beat the other guy."

Albus laughed quietly and gazed out into the night. There was still the unspoken between them. Still the knowledge that they had been witness to each of the others worst memories. It created a kind of distant intimacy between the two. It would never be spoken aloud, but they were connected now. She wasn't as bothered by that as she might have been. Truth be told she'd never really hated Albus Potter. His brother she despised yes, but Albus? He was a bit different, capable of being a dickhead yes and he continued to lead the house that had done so much damage to hers, but he wasn't as awful as those that had come before. And she thought he was probably coming to the realisation that the beliefs that had been etched into him from an early age were not universal truths. She was grateful as well. He wasn't looking at her with pity, wasn't judging her. He'd seen a bad thing happen to her but he had moved on from it. He had the strength that Scorpius didn't.

"I can't wait to leave this place, this castle." Albus admitted to her quietly.

"You and me both. Truth be told, I'm thinking of packing it all in now, just fucking off."

"If only. As soon as I'm out of here, I'm off. See the world. Pretentiously find myself in India like all those muggle students go on about."

A white beach, wand in pieces on the sand.

"Not going to follow in dear James' footsteps then and join Uncle Ron's squad?"

"Jesus Christ no," Albus snorted. "He's my brother and all but I can't think of anything worse than being like him. He's family, I have to love him but I don't have to fucking like him."

"What about Lily, you can just leave her behind?"

"She's more capable than people think. Than she thinks herself. She'll be fine. You owe her an apology by the way. What you said in the Broomsticks was uncalled for." he admonished, his words suddenly harder.

"I can say Lucy is like Chlamydia but I can't say Lily's a lesbian?" she questioned, although she knew the emptiness of the sentiments expressed.

"Lucy can give as good as she gets and her behaviour invites it on. Lily didn't do anything to you, has never done anything to anyone. She doesn't deserve to be forcibly outed in front of everyone."

"You're right. I'll apologise. But she shouldn't have to hide who she is." Elle advised, despite the fact that all she'd ever done was hide herself.

"I talked to her about it after. I don't give a fuck what she is, I just want her to be happy. Because that's what she deserves. She's not built for this world and the world that's to come. We're not good people. Me, you, Malfoy, Lucy, Rose, Tommy, Teddy, James, Ron, my father … She deserves better than all of us."

There was a warning in his words, she knew that. He'd been in her mind, had seen Lily in there. Maybe he thought it was nothing, just a projection, but he was making sure all the same. The worst thing was that he was right and it broke her a little. She wasn't a good person and she could never have what Lily represented to her. Could never have something that good, that pure. Because she'd destroy it like she destroyed everything else. Everything in her life turned to shit eventually, it was just a matter of timescales. And Lily didn't deserve that, didn't deserve to be drawn into her world. It was a dangerous place to be. She wasn't wired for anything other than what she was, couldn't change, could never be the person someone like Lily needed.

"You okay Eleonora?" Albus asked a concerned look on his face. Elle barely noticed.

"Laura .. " she corrected, not thinking.

"Laura? Who's Laura?"

Elle's pocket buzzed, her phone vibrating with a text. It brought her out of her trance like state.

"No-one," she recovered, checking her phone. A 911 from Laetitia. For the love of God could she not have one night? She hadn't slept in nearly 24 hours and in that time she had fought the hardest duel of her life and discovered her best friend had murdered her father. No more. No today. Slipped her phone back in her pocket. "Sorry, I drifted off there for a minute."

"No worries, it's been a long day," Albus nodded. "Malfoy summoning you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your phone." Albus gestured to her pocket.

"Not Malfoy," Elle said, her expression darkening. "Laetitia, you met her the other day remember?"

"Ah the Indian girl. Dominique's been slagging her off all week."

"I don't hold Dominique's opinion in too much regard if I'm being honest." she replied, making Albus laugh.

"I'm aware. She's alright our Dom. She's intimidated by you you know. They all are. Even Rose. You and Malfoy, the stories that get told about you. I've heard some ridiculous things. It'll only get more far fetched after your performance today. You ain't just the sidekick anymore Eleonora."

"I was never a sidekick Potter." Elle sighed.

"I know that. I've always known. You're a hell of a witch Eleonora. I've never seen anyone as naturally gifted as yourself, anyone who knows magic like I do will tell you the same. Malfoy knows it as well. You're probably the only person in the world who scares him because he knows you could be even better than he is. I'm not saying you will be, but you could. You really could."

Elle let out a stream of smoke and thought on his words. Her self esteem issues wouldn't let her agree with him, but she was pleased with the compliment all the same, especially from someone like him. She knew she was gifted, was aware that there were not many in this castle who could touch her when it came to skill. But she was not in the same league as Albus really, despite the result today, and she was miles behind Scorpius. Scorpius Malfoy. Killer. Could it have ended any other way? Stop it, she told herself. Stop thinking about it. Get back to what you know.

"Anyone would think you were coming onto me Potter," Elle smirked mischievously. "You wanna take a walk on the wild side with the big bad Slytherin?"

Albus laughed again. She'd never heard him laugh this much, had never seen him as at ease as he was now. It was as if a weight had been lifted. The crown weighs heavy.

"You wish Eleonora," he continued to chuckle. "I'd have no idea what to do with you."

"Anyone can learn. And I'm a fantastic teacher," she winked. "Lesson one, foreplay …."

"Okay, okay, enough," Albus interrupted. "Don't mock me when I'm in this state."

"Who said I was mocking?" she said, looking at him with a dead serious expression.

Albus looked at her with that inscrutable look but she couldn't keep up the pretence and cracked a smile.

"Your face Potter," she snorted. "Relax, I'm not into blokes at the moment. Unless they're Russian gangsters with tattoos."

"Can never tell with you," Albus said. "I remember that time when you pretended to try it on with Freddy at that Quidditch match. Do you remember it? Last year wasn't it? Yeah, as usual you and Malfoy were having a scrap with him and James, and then you started stroking his arm and whispering in his ear! I've never seen him look so confused. He had no idea what to do. No-one could tell if you were fucking with him or not until you threw him down the stands and said 'you wish dickhead'"

"Ah, Freddy. Anyone would have thought he was a virgin they way I saw his cock twitch a bit!"

"You're something else."

They continued for a while, reminiscing about old spats and fights they'd found themselves involved in. There had been many. It was nice to talk to someone other than Malfoy, nice to get the other perspective on things. He was good company when he was like this. When he was free. Another lifetime and they maybe could have been friends the two of them. But they weren't. For this night though, for this night they were just two teenagers laughing with each other. Just two kids who had never been allowed to be just that. Kids.

* * *

Lily Potter woke to the sound of soft laughter. She didn't open her eyes for a while, just let the beautiful sound wash over her. She slowly became aware of the crick in her neck and the numbness in her left leg. Her body felt strange, it was as if it was coiled up. The dream she had been having was already disappearing into the far reaches of her mind, she knew she would not remember it again. Slowly opened her eyes and was instantly confused. This wasn't her bed, this wasn't her room. She rubbed her eyes blearily and began to take in her surroundings. Curtains and bedspreads, vials and potions. An empty bed. Albus.

She shot up off the chair, looked frantically around for her brother, tiredness forgotten. He wasn't supposed to have moved, he was too hurt, too fragile. And his mind was broken. He'd been murmuring things as he had been dragged to the Hospital Wing, occasionally shouting out. And no-one had come. No-one but her. Rose and Tommy, his right hand and his best friend hadn't come to see how he was doing. It made her sick. So what if he had lost. He was still their friend, their family, their fucking leader. Laughter.

Soft laughter again, not just a remnant of a dream. She looked around an saw the open double doors. Heard the unmistakable deep chuckle of her brother and then the sharp but somehow melodic tones that she knew so well despite the fact they had spent very little time together. Eleonora. Making her brother laugh like he had never really laughed before with anyone apart from her. She crept to the edge of the doors and peered out into the night.

The two of them sat there, Eleonora gesturing her arms around animatedly telling a story, spliff in hand and Albus looking at her with amusement, occasionally interjecting with his own comments that made the purple haired girl either laugh or dismiss him with a witty aside, only making him laugh more. If you didn't know them, you'd think that they'd known each other for years, that they were the best of friends. Albus made another comment as Elle was inhaling in smoke, causing her to choke and double over in laughter. She smiled at the sight before she looked at her brother again and it hit her. He was looking at Eleonora like she'd never seen him look at anyone before, like she was the only person on this earth. Like she herself looked at the girl.

Of course. Could it have ended any other way? Albus Potter, the Gryffindor King, in love with the Slytherin Queen.

Jealousy. In Technicolor.

She was going to slip away, trudge back to her room as alone as ever but a voice interrupted.

"What is it with you and loitering little Potter?" the amused voice of Eleonora rang out. "Come on out, have a spliff."

"She certainly won't," Albus warned. "Come on Lils, have a seat."

"No," Lily shot back angrily, moving out onto the balcony, fury etched across her face. "You should be resting, not sitting here smoking drugs and chatting up the girl who put you in here in the first place."

Lily glanced at Elle who was smirking at her. Couldn't maintain eye contact.

"Alright sis, alright," Albus tried to placate. "But I'll only go back to bed if you go back to your dorm and get some proper sleep."

"But…"

"That's the deal, take it or leave it."

"Fine," she sighed, defeated. "But you go back to bed now."

"Fine, fine. What's got into you tonight Lils, you sound like Mum," Albus grumbled. "Eleonora, if you don't mind."

"Course. If only my house could see me now, helping a crippled Gryffindor and not pushing him over…"

Lily followed as Elle pushed Albus over to his bed before taking out her wand and levitated him back onto the bed. He shuffled around to get comfortable. When he had, it was obvious that he was exhausted, his eyes began drooping almost immediately.

"Eleonora," he muttered tiredly, "Take Lily back to Gryffindor tower. We both know the corridors won't be safe tonight. Please."

"You're going to ruin my reputation Potter," Elle warned. "Now get some sleep. Back to normal tomorrow. Enemies again."

"Yeah, enemies. And Eleonora, it stays between us. All of it." he said before his eyes shut and didn't open again. His breathing became steady. Lily squeezed his hand and then turned and walked out the room, leaving Elle trailing behind her.

* * *

Lily started off down the corridor at a pace that belittled her small stature.

"Potter! Potter slow up," Elle panted, running after her and eventually drawing level and matching the quick pace. "Jesus, you're fast for a midget."

"Look, I'm perfectly capable of making my own way back. No need to inconvenience yourself. Goodnight." Lily said coldly.

Elle wasn't really surprised by the hostility In the past few weeks she'd embarrassed the girl in front of her family, tried to get off with her cousin, albeit in a less than serious way, and put her brother in the hospital wing. Knew she should probably apologise, something she' never been too good at.

"I'm sorry about the other day alright?" she began in a placating tone. "I shouldn't have said what I said about you in the Broomsticks in front of everyone."

"No you shouldn't," Lily snapped back. "What have I ever done to you?"

It was too serious. It was too much. So Elle did what she always did. Get back to what you know.

"Apart from stare at me at meal times you mean?" she asked slyly.

Lily turned red before speeding up her pace.

"Whatever. Go away." she managed to let out.

Elle caught up and sped past her, getting in front and then turning to face her, walking backwards, smirking.

"Hey," she held her hands up. "I was kidding. It's very flattering really, but you might want to be a bit more subtle about it. I'm not gonna find you going through my underwear drawer am I?"

Lily drew her wand in the blink of an eye and shot a stunner at Elle, who despite her injuries dodged nimbly out of the line of fire, laughing all the way.

"You are so much fun to wind up little Potter."

"WELL, I'M FUCKING GLAD I'M SUCH A FUCKING JOKE TO YOU!" Lily screamed at her and Elle was no longer so amused. "Always the same, poor little Lily, so weak, so innocent, so fragile. But no-one has a clue what I am. Nobody ever bothers with me. All of them, they have everything and I've got nothing. Dom's beautiful, Rose is a clever, James is so brave, Freddy's so funny and Albus? He's a genius, he's everything, has everything, and now he has you as well."

"What are you talking about?" Elle asked confused.

"I should have known really," Lily continued, ignoring Elle or just not hearing her. "Stupid Lily, why would anyone like me when he's there? How can I ever compare to him? To any of them. I thought …. I thought that you would be different. Should have known after you lied to me about Teddy. Fucking stupid Lily …."

"Lily what are you talking about?" Elle repeated. "Albus .."

"HE'S IN LOVE WITH YOU!" Lily yelled. "I saw the way he looked at you tonight. And how you were with him. I've only ever seen you like that with Malfoy, laughing and totally wrapped up in each other. I should have seen it coming. Why would someone like you like someone like me when he's standing next to me? Why would …"

Elle couldn't help herself. She closed the gap between them and cut Lily off by kissing her. It wasn't sweet, it wasn't controlled, it wasn't considerate. It was aggressive and messy, and wonderful. Lily responded after she got over the shock, clumsily meeting her in a mesh of tongues and teeth. As Elle pushed Lily against the wall of the corridor she let herself forget it all for a while. Forget that she wasn't supposed to be doing this, that she'd promised herself that she wouldn't draw this girl into her awful world. For a minute she forgot all her earlier thoughts and convinced herself that she deserved this, a recompense for her tragic life. She deserved a moment of bliss, of purity, of selfishness. She could just pretend that they were just two girls who liked each other. They weren't a Gryffindor and a Slytherin, they weren't destined to be on different sides in the war to come. How could they be when it felt this right? If it was always like this, Elle thought, then she could perhaps finally come to terms with it, come to terms with what everyone like her had to at some point.

Come to terms with being gay.

Because, despite the front, despite the ease with which she carried her sexuality, she wasn't sure she had ever fully embraced herself until this very moment.

And for now there was nothing else in the world, just Lily Potter melting into her, small hands resting on her waist as they poured everything into each other.

A buzzing in her pocket finally awoke Elle and she shot back, leaving Lily dishevelled against the wall, lips swollen, face red, breathing heavily. Elle looked away and sighed, all the reasons for not kissing Lily Potter filling her up again. But she wasn't entirely sure she cared. That lack of surety was worrying. She checked her phone. Another 911 from Laetitia. And another from Malfoy. If the last few minutes hadn't happened then she would have ignored them and gone to bed, but now she needed an escape. Delay. But when she looked at Lily who looked so shocked, dazed and beautiful, she couldn't help herself. She just couldn't.

"Red." she smirked.

" …What?" Lily asked in a small, breathless voice.

"Red," she repeated. "My underwear's red. And Albus will never get to see them whatever he feels. But you on the other hand …"

Leaving it hanging and Lily Potter breathless and turned on, she laughed and sauntered away down the corridor, a smile on her face all the way, the doubts all ignored. And Scorpius Malfoy and Michael Steele forgotten, just for a minute.

* * *

Tired and exhausted, Elle apparated into the London townhouse, the base of their operation. She was surprised she hadn't splinched herself to be honest. She necked another calming draught as she regained her bearings, feeling her muscles relax. But she was exhausted, both physically and mentally, and an imminent face to face with Scorpius was something she was not looking forward to.

"Jesus, finally!" Laetitia exclaimed, walking into the kitchen to find Elle standing in the middle of it. "Christ you look fucking dreadful."

"Thanks Laetitia, as tactful as ever."

"I say what I see," Laetitia smiled. "And seriously, you look like you've been shooting skag down Trafalgar Square with all the other junkies."

"It's the look I was going for." Elle deadpanned.

"Well, mission accomplished," Laetitia smirked. "I heard you won though, so congratulations and all that."

"Cheers. So then, what's the fucking emergency?"

"Patience young Jedi …"

"Do you ever think we make too many Star Wars references?"

"I haven't even seen it to be honest." Laetitia admitted.

"Seriously! How can you have never seen …. We're getting sidetracked. Come on Laetitia, I'm fucking dying here in case you hadn't noticed and I need to sleep for a week. What's the emergency?"

"The Joanne Joyce surveillance may have turned something up. Come on, Malfoy's in the living room, I'll show you both."

Great. Scorpius was here. The one person Elle really didn't want to see right now, didn't want to be anywhere near. But it wasn't realistic to think she could ever cut him off. Their lives were so entwined with each others that there was no possibility of them ever being rid of each other completely. She took a deep breath and went to face her best friend. Her best friend the murderer.

She saw the back of his head first, smoke from his spliff crowning him like a halo. He only ever really smoked weed when he was worried about something. No prizes for guessing what that was. She coughed and he shot up from the sofa, turning round to face her.

"Malfoy." she nodded. She had nothing left, nothing with which to fight.

"Elle." he nodded back.

Then, silence. For about a minute as they stared each other down. Malfoy's eyes were as unreadable as ever, but she knew hers were showing the anger an the tiredness. Laetitia looked between them confused.

"Okaay," she drawled out. "Why has it suddenly gone like totally awks in here?"

"Do you have to abbreviate everything Patil?" Scorpius groaned and Elle couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"Seriously, what's going on here." Laetitia ignored him.

"Nothing, nothing," Elle sighed. "Just been a long day."

As much as Laetitia was her friend, she wasn't going to let her in on this one. If she'd had any time o reflect on current events, she might have deduced that that was what started this all of in the first place, keeping things from each other, hiding behind lies as they piled up. But she didn't.

"So, what have you found then Laetitia?" Scorpius asked her, moving over towards the computers. "You said something about the Joanne Joyce surveillance?"

"Yeah," Laetitia replied, moving to join him. "Let me tell you first off that this girl is possibly the most boring individual on the planet. Seriously I'd rather watch paint dry than have to watch another fucking minute of her tedious existence. Three weeks I've been on her and she does absolutely nothing. She gets up, eats, goes to work, eats, goes home, eats, watches telly, sleeps. Literally. She doesn't have any friends, boyfriends, family that see her. She doesn't go anywhere that's not the bookshop where she works or her flat. And sometimes she cries at night. Fuck, I think I would if I was her. I was tempted to send her a vibrator or something just to cheer her up …."

"Okay, we get it, she's boring. So it's a waste of time then?" Elle groaned.

"Well that's what I thought until today," Laetitia said, sitting down at her computer desk and firing up the video player on it. "Now, don't get me wrong this might still be nothing, but at 1603 today this happens."

The computer began to play surveillance footage from the bookshop in which Joanne worked. The quality was sharp, Laetitia had used a professional team to break in and install it and they had fitted microphones as well so they could hear everything. The video was showing nothing unusual, Joanne flicking through a magazine behind the counter, the shop entirely empty.

"Wait for it …." Laetitia breathed.

And then the timer in the bottom corner of the screen hit 1603pm and the bell of the shop chimed.

In walked Draco Malfoy.

* * *

Elle glanced across to Scorpius, who's face seemed somehow tighter. Looked back at the footage. Of course, to anyone else it seemed normal. Just a man browsing in a bookshop, perhaps looking for some holiday reading, perhaps looking for a birthday present, perhaps looking for something to sit with quietly in this ever noisier world. But Elle and Scorpius knew a drop when they saw it. They'd done it themselves enough times. And they knew enough about the world to always question a coincidence. They continued to watch as Draco casually perused the shop's offerings, stopping occasionally to pick out a book and look at the back of it. And then they saw it. The unmistakable slip of a white envelope into one of the titles he picked up, the unmistakable attempted nonchalance as he walked away, the nod to the girl behind the counter and the swift exit.

"Go forward Laetitia." Scorpius said softly, his tone calm, but his face a shade whiter.

Laetitia fast forwarded for a while.

"Stop!" Scorpius instructed.

1657pm. Joanne Joyce looked around her shop, unaware that it wasn't people looking through the window she should be worried about. Moved over towards the bookcase that Draco had been browsing, picked out the book he had picked up, slid the envelope out and pocketed it hastily, going back to the counter and preparing to close up.

"As I said, it might be nothing…" Laetitia attempted unconvincingly.

"I think we all know it was definitely something." Elle ventured.

"Play it again." Scorpius demanded.

They watched it again and again. It grew more obvious each time. To be honest it was a sloppy drop, Elle thought. Draco was slipping. hadn't he checked for cameras, done a sweep, made it a little less easy for anyone who may be watching to join the dots? Perhaps that wasn't the right phrase, because this development did nothing but muddy the waters even further for Elle. How the hell was Draco involved in this? How did he connect to Joanne, to them? As far as Elle could see, the dots were an impossible pattern to join up.

"That's enough now." Scorpius said after about the twentieth time of watching, getting up and lighting a cigarette. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Elle felt a pang for him despite it all. His own father.

"And that's all the surveillance has shown up?" Elle asked Laetitia, as Malfoy seemingly got lost in his own world over by the sofa.

"Yep, that's it. Oh I manage to get a copy of her Hogwarts file as well if you're interested," Laetitia remembered, passing Elle a stack of photocopies. "Also boring as fuck. I've wasted hours with this girl. To think, I could have seen Les Miserable's about fifty times. Fucking time wasted on Joanne fucking Joyce."

"You like living here rent free?" Elle questioned pointedly as she flicked through the folder. "Yep, nothing much here, parents divorced, one sister deceased and one brother in Ravenclaw, grades average, best subject Charms, got an E at NEWT and the rest A's, total of four detentions in her fifth year all for being out in the grounds after curfew, three more in sixth then none in seventh, Slytherin, obviously, not a prefect, in Charms club and Gobstone's club, fucking loser, four dorm mates, Natalie Towney, Evelyn Dodd, Cassie Larsson, god she was fit, half Swedish ….."

"Wait," Scorpius interrupted, suddenly coming alive. Elle was unaware he was even listening. "Go back, the detentions, what did you say about them?"

"Four in her fifth year and three in sixth, all for being out past curfew. Nothing unusual about that for a less than bright sixteen year old."

"Does it say anything more about them?" Scorpius asked, his tone betraying that he may well be on to something.

"Not really, the only details are that she was caught on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest twice, all the others weren't recorded properly."

Scorpius wheeled away and began pacing, his fingers tapping his sides, occasionally coming up to run through his hair. Elle and Laetitia just watched confused. He was muttering.

"There's something here," he mumbled to himself. "Something I'm missing. Come on Malfoy, come on. COME ON!"

"Is he having a breakdown." Laetitia breathed out worriedly.

Elle shushed her and watched him twitch and stutter around the room and around his words. Snatches she could make out.

"Detentions …. My father ….. Divorced Parents …. Forbidden Forest … Bookshop …. Dead sister ….. Cassie Larsson ….. Detentions …. Charms … Dead sister ….. Dead sister …. Forbidden Forest … Draco Malfoy … Dead sister…"

And then she knew he had it. As he turned to her, she knew he'd worked it all out, he'd solved at least part of the puzzle. Him and his brilliant mind. She waited on tenterhooks, all thoughts of anger towards him forgotten with the promise of discovery.

"What does my Dad do Elle?" he asked.

"What? He hunts down Dark Artefacts for the Ministry doesn't he?" she answered, as confused as ever.

"Exactly. And what Dark Artefact do we know to have at some point been left in the Forbidden Forest?"

"I don't ….." Elle began, before she was there with him. And she couldn't believe that this was what it had all been about. This. A fleeting pipedream of theirs, a plan that had been abandoned almost as quickly as it had taken hold. All those months ago by the lake when Warrington and Rose Weasley were squaring off. They'd been lie to from day one and put through all of this for nothing.

"And who do we know who has been caught several times near the forest who would have a very good use for such an artefact?" Scorpius asked her.

"Dead sister …" Elle breathed out.

"It's cute that you two have your own freak language, but can someone please tell me what's going on?" Laetitia interrupted angrily.

"It's what it's all been about." Scorpius replied.

"And what's it all been about?"

"The Resurrection Stone."


	22. White Men

"_It__'__s the little things, you know?__"__ \- __Anton Tschosky _

* * *

"Come on Jerry, just give me a week on it. That's all I'm asking."

"Look, I'm not like the others, I admire the enthusiasm, I really do, but I can't have my senior crime reporter running all over town because of some bizarre conspiracy theory! Think about what you're saying Steve, you've gotta know it's bullshit."

Steve Mackay groaned in exasperation, aggressively chucking his cigarette into the gutter before promptly lighting another one, pacing furiously up and down in front of the building, watched on warily by his editor. Ten years he'd been here. Ten years he'd been head crime reporter at the Daily Prophet. And up until recently, he'd been content. He had loved his job, the buzz, the adrenaline, the access to worlds he would never have been allowed in previously, from the highest to the lowest. He hadn't even minded the transformation the paper had taken. He wasn't one of those journalists who held up the profession as some kind of sacred practice. He was fully aware what they were. Parasites, leeches, who fed off the tragedy and the sheer mundanity of every day life in equal measure. So what if he was only writing Ministry approved articles, so what if he ignored the tip offs that Ron Weasley's Auror department was rotten to the core? What could he do anyway? Kick up a fuss and find himself in the job line, blacklisted and unemployable? No, he was perfectly content to carry on the way he was, to be unremarkable but happy.

But it had started two years ago. Initially he had put it down to the affair, the divorce, the mid life crisis. Turning forty had been tough on him. It was ironic because he had always sneered at those types when he was younger, and suddenly he woke up one day realising he'd joined their ranks. He'd thought it would fade away, it would be out of his system, the depression and the drinking were just temporary. This feeling that he had achieved nothing with his life and was just drifting on cruise control would dissipate. But the signs couldn't be ignored and as time went on he started to think that perhaps it wasn't him after all. That perhaps something big was afoot, something so clouded, so elegantly masked, so …. purposefully _random _in its approach that it was nigh on impossible to make sense of. The whisperings on the street, only audible to very few, the slow, almost invisible weakening of the Knockturn scene. First was the withdrawal of the Russians from the black market. Sure, some splinter groups would occasionally pop up buying a few potions, but nothing to the scale it had been two years ago. Then came the Belgrade bank robbery. That was when he'd first began asking questions. Something wasn't right. And as he delved deeper into the underworld he began to hear more and more, just meaningless scraps when looked at individually, but when put together, some murky and disturbing bigger picture truths.

Everyone thought he was insane. The criminal element of Knockturn had grown complacent over time, revelling in their outlaw status too much, ignoring the threat that he knew was there. His superiors at the paper had at first treated him with something approaching polite disdain, but as his work got shoddier and shoddier, later and later, as he devoted more time to his off the books investigation, the politeness disappeared entirely to be replaced with threats and disgust. Or worse, the sympathetic eyes that were reserved for crazy people. He wasn't crazy.

He wasn't crazy.

It was escalating. The disappearance of the Queen of Clubs, the Goblins going to ground suspending all activity, a rumoured break in at the Ministry. A demonstration that briefly turned Diagon Alley into a war zone, The Wolf unmasked as none other than Teddy Lupin. But amidst all this chaos was the truth that nothing was actually changing. Drugs were still moving on the streets, the black market was back with a vengeance. And this was what worried him. Because who was dealing if the Queen of Clubs wasn't, who was selling dark antiques if the Goblins weren't? And the most terrifying rumour of them all, told to him in a grotty pub by a dishevelled rakish man smoking roll ups who would just hours later die of an overdose in an alley down the road …

"You've got to pull yourself together now Steve!" Jerry Watson was saying. "For God sake, stop with all this nonsense and write what we fucking tell you to write!"

"You must see it Jerry," Steve spat. "Open your fucking eyes!"

"No, you open _your _fucking eyes!" his editor shouted at him, moving so they were nose to nose, flecks of spit showering him like raindrops. "Can't you see it Steve? Our circulations down three fold this year, the budget's overspent again for the last quarter and we're losing people left right and centre. I've got the Ministry breathing down my neck checking everything we write, advertisers jumping ship every five minutes, it takes every fucking ounce of me to even put a weekly out at the moment. Just be grateful you've got anything to write on at all! Today, we got jobs, but tomorrow? The writing's on the fucking wall! And you want to run around Knockturn Alley, chasing up dead junkies and prostitutes, making connections where there are none to be made? Right now there's a gun to our heads, and you want to go and pull the fucking trigger? No, I won't fucking let you do it!"

Steve pushed him away, anger coursing through every inch of him. He wanted to shake the man in front of him, wanted to shake him until he understood.

"I'm placing you on compassionate leave." Jerry sighed, deflating in front of him.

"Compassionate leave, what the fuck for?"

"You're losing it Steve, I should have done this months ago. Three months, you see a counsellor, you stop the drinking. Clean your sorry fucking self up. And then come back to work and we'll forget all about this breakdown you're currently inflicting on all of us."

"I'm not fucking crazy!" Steve shouted.

"The thing is Steve, when people shout things like 'I'm not crazy', it usually means they are."

He was about to lose it, he really was. If what happened hadn't happened then he would have found himself in Azkaban for assault. But just as he was about to lash out, a huge explosive roar ripped through the night, the ground shook beneath them, sending them both sprawling. He staggered up, dazed and confused, and then he saw the fire in the near distance, licking it's way through the building across the way. And then that familiar cracking of the sky, the careening light, the circle, the letter U. Unity.

"What the fuck?" Jerry shook from the floor behind him, an expression of horror all over his chubby face.

"Looks like neither of us have anything to write on Jerry," Steve smirked down at the man. "Unity have just blown up your printing press."

With a laugh he walked away from the fire with the one question searing through him.

Just exactly who were Unity?

Because he was beginning to suspect that there was so much more to them than meets the eye.

Was beginning to suspect that they were the key to unlocking all of it.

* * *

He walked through the dusty streets with purpose, a man who to any casual observer seemed to know exactly where he was going and what he was going to find there. The truth of the matter however was that Draco Malfoy was entering into the unknown and had only the vaguest idea of what he may find, if anything, at the end. Four days ago, a week after the Unity attack on the Prophet and Ron Weasley's ascension to acting Minister in it's aftermath, the Ministry had received intelligence that an assumed lost artefact had turned up on a market stall in Morocco. And that was pretty much all he had had to go on when he was tasked with investigating the case. Normally a vague tip off such as this would be followed up by the more junior members of his team, but this was a big one, a dark object that took the form of a small two foot long piece of African Blackwood and that was seconded only to the Hallows and Horcruxes in terms of danger and therefore priority. The true nature of it was still a matter of academic dispute, some said it caused vivid hallucinations that persuaded whoever was unlucky enough to be handling it to see danger in everything in front of them and take lethal action, others said it was a mass killing curse lying dormant. Whatever it was, it was legendary. Thought to have been created in Somalia in the 1700s by a experimental tribal group of witches, rumours of it popped up all over the world in the subsequent decades and centuries. Draco himself had researched it for an academic paper in his early twenties and had surfaced mentions of the Blackwood at some point in Paris, New Orleans, Hamburg, Cape Town, New Mexico, Liverpool, rural Switzerland and finally the trail went cold somewhere in Northern Vietnam around 1920. But now Draco Malfoy had a line on it, the first to do so in more than a century. He caught the first flight out of London.

He always travelled by muggle methods. It was less obvious.

He had never been to Morocco before, spending more time in the South of the continent when work had required it. Africa, the cradle of civilisation, the birthplace of all of us, he had an affinity for the continent despite the fact he knew he could never understand it, never perceive it as it should be perceived. White man in Africa. Every single language spoken in every corner of this land mass had it's own word for it, for him. White man in Africa. He knew how to use that to his advantage. Crisp linen suit, air of superiority, look of distaste, yes he played the part of white foreign businessman well. The key was to own the fact that you obviously didn't belong here. There was no chance of blending into the background so accept it and go about your business. And arm yourself. Because the Ministry leaked like a sieve and although he knew he was guaranteed a few days head start, it was certain by now that their discovery had been whispered of to at least one or two rival groups, be it governments or rogue organisations. But he would be yet another step ahead. Because he had another lead. He had a contact with a possible location, a corrupt Russian trade department official who stood to name his price if his information was correct.

His work was off the books, his department given free reign over field tactics. No red tape, no inquiries, no interference. That was how it had to be. They inhabited a world of shadows and the danger was always there. Draco had been shot, tortured, stabbed all in name of duty. His body was covered in scars, although somehow his sculpted face had remained intact over all these years. He kept the scars as a reminder of what he was capable of, what he was capable of enduring. As he strode through the Grand Bazaar, he thought back on the beginning of his career, the angry young man who had too much to prove, who was humiliated and ashamed of himself, his past, and by the conquering heroes. Over the years he had learnt to accept his younger self as part of him and had forgiven his discretions. All of it, every single experience, had made him what he was today, and in the end had probably saved him from a lifetime of abuse and poverty. Because it made him the best at his job and therefore indispensable to a world that hated him. So he had money, he had status, he had respect. Something that was denied to others like him. Slytherin's like him. Death Eaters like him.

He glanced around and saw a pair of pale blue eyes staring back at him before they flicked away and disappeared into the crowd. Market stalls that offered all manner of goods lined the way, men and women standing in front of them bartering, yelling, encouraging. And the heat was almost unbearable. He wasn't using magic, never did on a job unless forced, so a cooling charm was out of the question. He stopped at a busy stall specialising in exotic fruits, picking up a large pink sphere that looked like nothing he'd ever seen before. He pretended to examine it with curiosity, masking the fact that he was in fact taking a mental picture of his surroundings. Next to him was a white family, looking both electrified and terrified as a native gestured animatedly at them. Tourists, obviously. The small boy with them had white blonde hair like him and Scorpius ….

Scorpius, his son.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to raise a genius, to try to assert any authority over a child who's intelligence far outstripped your own within a few years of him being born? They'd done their best. Him and Astoria, the fierce woman who he loved more than any other despite her flaws. But Scorpius, they had lost him forever. That was okay, They'd done the best they could.

He'd done the right thing hadn't he? He'd done the right thing.

Shook himself out of it. He needed focus, needed to be on high alert. Confident he wasn't being tailed, he moved on and exited the Bazaar, crossing a busy road and taking a left, quickly arriving at the café where the meet with Anton Tschosky was set for. He took a seat on the plastic chairs outside and ordered a beer from the young waitress. He gazed out onto the street in front of him through his sunglasses, taking in the business of everything here. The chaos, the beauty, everything. He didn't have to wait long before a thick set man struggled into a chair next to him, the plastic creaking in protest.

"Draco!" the man wheezed out in perfect English. "It's been a while has it not?"

"Singapore three years ago wasn't it?" Draco inclined his head and toasted Anton, who raised his freshly acquired beer in reciprocation.

"Ah yes of course. Back when seniority meant a decent posting. Have you seen this place," he gestured obnoxiously around him. "Fucking Africa! That's the thanks I get for twenty years of service? Mother Russia, what a bitch!"

"Careful Anton," Draco warned. "Your country is not exactly known for it's tolerance towards dissenters."

"You think there are any Russians within a hundred miles of us right now to hear me? Fuck no, why would they be anyway near this godforsaken hellhole? I'm telling you Draco, I hate my country, hated living there, got out as soon as I could, but now I long for it. I long for the snow, for the language, for the coffee, for the vodka. Ah the vodka! It's the little things, you know?" he sighed dramatically, before he fixed Draco with sly eyes.

"And how is your country treating it's protestors these days? You are just a step away from a police state yourselves. And Ronald Weasley, Minster? That _pizda_?"

Draco recognized the insult immediately and laughed along with the man, in complete agreement for a change. He had a good enough working relationship with Weasley, they needed each other. But he hated the man, hated what he stood for, hated the world he was cementing. If they could manage it, him and Astoria were planning on emigrating when he retired, despite the travel restrictions she was under. They could easily bypass it illegally now but he didn't fancy spending the rest of his life hiding away. No, they wanted to do it properly. And this job today could be his ticket to that freedom. He steered the conversation away from the small talk.

"So Anton, a little bird tells me you're sitting on a blank cheque down in this 'hellhole'."

Anton took a long sip of his beer and leant back, looking around obviously to check they weren't going to be overheard. He leaned forward and dramatically lowered his voice, a man sure of the importance of the information he had to offer. Draco acted along with him, making the man feel as if he was in complete control, that he was worth something.

"I couldn't believe it when I heard about it. This little Berber puta I've been seeing on the side if you know what I mean let it slip. I'm telling you, the things that girl does to me …."

Draco cringed inside but gave the man an encouraging grin, two men together conspiring over sexual conquests. How awful.

Anton lit a cigarette.

"She has friends as well you know, I'd be happy to introduce you." he offered with a predatory smile.

"Maybe," Draco played along. He had no intention of ever paying for sex. He wasn't that pathetic. "But business first yes?"

"Naturally, naturally," Anton agreed. "As I was saying, Yasmine, she was telling me this story about how there's this market town in one of the provinces outside the city that has a bit of a reputation. Ran by this crazy old bat who's into muggle blood magic, all that 101 rubbish, you know? The place itself though, high suicide rates, mysterious goings on all that jazz. I thought nothing of it and I was far more interested in other things Yasmine could do with her mouth other than talk if you know what I means."

Draco almost couldn't hold back a shudder at the man in front of him. The people he had to deal with. Russians were often the worst in his experience, although the best man he knew was also a Russian, so he couldn't really make a judgement.

"Anyway," Anton continued. "I forgot all about it until last week. I managed to catch a group of Persian Goblins attempting to set up a contraband ring right here in Morocco. Flying carpets, that retro shit. So we're questioning them, nothing out of the ordinary again. Until I go over the notes that some of my staff did on interviews with a junior member of the gang, younger cousin of the ringleader or something, and I catch it. There written right in front of me, _Dam Alwaax._"

"The blackest wood …" Draco translated, the excitement building.

"You know your Somali."

"No, I know my African Blackwood."

Anton leaned back looking pleased with himself.

"Of course I recognised it immediately. Not many would these days, most think it's a myth. Seems that the Goblins have heard whispers that we haven't. I put two and two together and asked Yasmine again. And I really think this is it Draco. I think I've found the Blackwood. But I'm no treasure hunter, I don't mix myself up in this kind of shit. No, it's the easy life for me, even if that is in fucking Africa. And I remembered you asking about it all those years ago at that conference in Johannesburg. I don't forget."

"I'm glad you don't," Draco said without a hint of distaste. Whatever the man in front of him was, this information was gold dust. He could forgive anything for this. "Have you checked it out from a distance?"

"Fuck no," Anton laughed. "I don't want to be anywhere near that shit as I said. The fucking Blackwood? No thank you."

"But you have the location?" Draco pressed.

"Of course, you are the first person I talk to of this. I ask myself what to do with this. Do I turn it over to my country after the way they've treated me? No. Do I go private, the collectors route? Too many risks. The cartels or rings? Again too much risk. So I think, who do I know who has use for this? Who do I trust to act with honour and integrity? And of course, who has the deepest pockets no?"

Anton cackled and Draco smiled back. He was an odious man, a scumbag with no loyalty, but at least he owned it. You've got to own what you are. You've got to own it to survive as the white man in Africa.

"If this is genuine Anton, you can name your price. And that _pizda_ Ron Weasley will double it."

They clinked glasses. Two white men in Africa.

* * *

It was dusk by the time he arrived at the province, a two hour drive in a falling apart jeep from Casablanca. He'd managed to shake Anton off reasonably quickly, despite the mans protests. A promise had been made for a proper catch up and drink the next evening, a promise that Draco was sure to break if the Russians information was correct. As he entered the small town, he felt it in the air, felt the magic, the shift. There was no dramatic thunderclap, no obvious signs, but it was there for someone like him to notice. That feeling of unease, of danger, of warning. It fitted what he had expected and the excitement began to build again, as did the nervousness. This would be the most dangerous artefact he'd ever handled if he got there. Even more so than the previous feather in his cap, the Resurrection Stone, although that little secret remained hidden from his superiors. He was biding his time, waiting for the right moment to reveal himself as the most successful barrier against the Dark Arts since Harry Potter. Poor, broken Harry Potter. Then he could name his demands. He was so close now, so close.

He felt the tingle on his arm. The mark awakening to the dark magic. Recognizing a kindred spirit, a home.

He pulled over across the street from where Anton had told him to go. Got out of the car and leaned casually against the bonnet, gazing onto the market being packed up. He began to walk through the town, his feet almost working separate from his body, drawn towards what he was certain was here. This instinct was like a sixth sense, it made him the best at this type of thing. He drew stares from the locals. People like him rarely ventured this far out of the city and he was met with hostile looks or ones of confusion, even wonderment from some filthy street urchins. He ignored them all and carried on, like a moth to a flame. His mind was whirring, forgotten thoughts and bad memories attempting to push themselves to the forefront. Tried to clear his mind, tried to focus purely on the good, but it was impossible. And that's why he knew he was in the right place. He knew he was about to make the discovery of the century.

Turned left down a side street, then right, right again, left, straight for a mile or so, then left. Darkness and neglect, that was this town. Ghoulish apparitions in filthy windows, shit covering the streets, stray animals baring their teeth as if they were the dominant species. It grew worse as he continued on his journey, he became short of breath, short of the will to carry on. It was so bad he almost turned back, the thoughts in his head screaming at him, his past unfolding and everything he told himself so he was able to sleep at night disappearing, until all that was left was the broken sixteen year old. The bully who'd got in to deep, who'd caused the deaths of hundreds, whose convictions had never been strong enough to see through. The coward he was, the coward he still was. The father who ran away from his son, who gave up on him when it got too difficult. The husband who forgave his wife her awful opinions just because he was afraid of ending up alone. The hunter who roamed the globe, looking down on people like Anton despite the fact they were so much better than him. Him and his life. His awful, misjudged existence. He was a terrible man. Life was a precious artefact that he didn't deserve, had never deserved.

He stumbled on somehow, a chink of himself remained to see it through. And he came to the door. Legs heavy, knees weak, head all over the place. He collapsed against it's splintered wood, resting for a moment. But he knew he couldn't stay like that. With one final push he raised himself and hammered his fist on the door. This was the place. This was the place where everything ended.

The door creaked open an inch and he staggered back, his senses no use now. Everything was clouded, the fog had descended. All he could see was the sliver of light through the partially opened wood and the face illuminated, the horrible, disfigured, twisted face that looked as if it had been here since the dawn of time.

"Si?" the voice croaked out in Spanish, the eyes that were just slits regarding him with what could only be described as amusement. There was no sparkle, no hint of life, just of cold superiority and perception.

"I'm … Ministry ….. English?" he breathed out, every syllable a colossal effort.

"And what can the white Englishman possibly want here Draco Malfoy?" the face croaked back, the mouth unmoving. He thought it was a woman but he couldn't be sure. Such things became obsolete after a while.

"How do you …. know … my name?"

"I know every name." she cackled. "I know everything about you Draco Malfoy. I know everything about everyone."

He recoiled in fear, falling backwards as if the air itself had pushed him. Heard the laugh as he lay on the dirt, in the shit and the mud. couldn't get up, couldn't break free. He was going to die here he thought. He was going to die in a Moroccan ghost town with only a broken face for company. Scorpius, Astoria.

"You were never ready for this Draco Malfoy," the voice penetrated his consciousness as he slipped out of it. "You have never been ready, and you will never be ready. You have to own it, remember. You have to own it."

Suddenly he felt the fury course through him like it never had before. You need to own it. Let out a roar and forced himself up. Because he wasn't going to die on a bed of dog shit in Morocco, wasn't going to accept defeat from a haggard old crow. He was stronger than almost any man alive and he knew that now. He knew that.

He yanked up his sleeve aggressively and held his forearm up in front of the crack in the door, in the old womans face. The mark was stronger than it had ever been, defined and alive.

"You see this?" he hissed, his voice twisted and distorted to his own ears. The real him. "This mark is darkness, this mark is evil, this mark is me. I am this mark! Everything I've ever done has been in service to it, in service to the sheer terror of it. You think you scare me? You think you can scare me with your petty witchcraft? I've seen war, I've stood in front of true evil, I've seen everything this world has to offer and more. So you think I'm afraid now? You think I'm not ready for you? I'm ready for every single piece of this fucking planet! Everything! So move aside and let me in before I blast this whole fucking town apart!"

The woman regarded him with a look he couldn't place. The silence stretched into minutes, which stretched into hours, neither moving, neither saying a word. And then …

"You may enter Draco Malfoy."

* * *

The face disappeared into the darkness. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Pushed the door open and followed her in. His guard was down, there was nothing he could hide in this place, nothing he could do. If he was walking into his death then so be it. That's the way it had to be. No fear. He didn't fear death, no, what he feared was not dying on his own terms.

The door slammed behind him and he was encased in darkness. He reached back to find the door that should have been just inches behind him, but he was grasping at air. Moved forward one step at a time, slowly, slowly. Tripped and fell, but he seemed to just bounce up from the ground. Could feel insects crawling around his feet, his bare face felt like it was being chewed off as flies buzzed around him. Swatted at them but they just came back. He carried on. Heard a shrill cackle to his left and span around. Then a child's voice ahead, faint and distant.

"_One, two, three, four, five six, seven …"_

He recognized something in that voice, something familiar but far away, the reaches of his memory. Moved on towards the voice that became clearer and clearer.

"_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. All good children go to heaven …."_

He knew that voice, but he couldn't do it. He was losing himself as he went further on into the darkness, forgetting himself, only that child's voice existed.

"_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. All good children go to heaven. Penny on the water, two pence on the sea …"_

Who was he? Was he anything at all? Just darkness and mass. Church hymns and nursery rhymes, dark rooms and murderers. Faces on a wall. Faces in mirrors. Time lapsing and lapsing and lapsing.

The voice was next to him, it was in front of him, it was behind him. It was him.

"_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. All good children go to heaven. Penny on the water, two pence on the sea, three pence on the railway, and out goes she_!"

That voice was him. Him as a child. His grandmother playing with him in the garden, pulling off the petals of flowers.

"_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. All good children go to heaven."_

He screamed and lashed out, limbs flailing around him as he swiped at the air, the nothingness, the darkness that he was now. Draco Malfoy, broken and alone, only a child's nursery rhyme for company. Until it wasn't there anymore and it was just silent. He collapsed to the ground, this time he was allowed to fall. Felt the hard wood beneath him as he cracked his head on it. He was bleeding from the wound, his head pounding. He was defeated. He was going to die here.

Then, suddenly, music punctured the air.

"_Hey! You! Get off of my cloud!"_

"What the fuck?" he breathed out confused. The voice was tinny, a speaker in a glass, bleeding from the headphones.

"_Hey! You! Get off of my cloud!"_

His favourite band, his favourite song, the Stones. What the hell was going on? And then he saw it, the flashing light a few feet away from him. He crawled towards it.

"_Hey! You! Get off of my cloud!"_

He reached the light and groped for it, lifting it up to his eyes.

It was a mobile phone.

"_Don't hang around boy two's a crowd on my cloud baby." _the ringtone continued.

Scared and confused he pressed the green answer button and brought it up to his ear. He didn't have to wait long.

"Alright Dad?" the cheery voice of Scorpius rattled through him. "I think we need to have a little chat, don't you?"

* * *

**AN. Apologies for the delay. Bit weird this innit? Nearing the end now.**


	23. Dead Mans Shoes

"_Good people do bad things and bad people do good things, and the world keeps on turning__"__ \- Laetitia Patil_

* * *

He didn't know why he'd come really. The phrase grasping at straws sprang to mind as he combed through the basement flat, searching for anything, anything that could point him in a direction. North, South, East, West, whatever, wherever. He was desperate. Maybe he was insane, maybe everything they said about him was true. Compassionate leave. He'd celebrated that one by getting royally fucked up on Jack Daniels in some seedy muggle bar. He'd clean himself up soon. He'd just have one more drink, no, one more night, no, one more week, no, one more month. It was never gonna happen. And today, his head was hurting, the dull ache that was his constant companion these days.

He spent hours looking through every drawer, checking under floorboards, cutting open cushions, taking apart the television, everywhere he could think too look. Was currently perusing the bookcase, surprised to see classic muggle literature turn up, even more surprised to see a Bible in pride of place. It was a battered copy that suggested it had been regularly taken down and studied, sometimes not carefully. He never knew Twig was religious, it didn't fit at all really, but he had been around long enough to know that you could never truly know anyone inside out. Could never know everything about even those closest to you, so it was little surprise that a casual acquaintance such as Twig would have things he didn't know about. Put the Bible back carefully and carried on his search.

Looking around the place, a sudden wave of pity for the man who had lived in these walls crashed over him like never before. Twig was in no way a nice man, in no way a good person, but no-one deserved to live like this really, down at the bottom of everything. Closed his eyes and remembered the shambling man sitting next to him at the bar, turning up out of the blue after months of radio silence with some vague truth about seeing relatives in Manchester for a while. Always appeared when Steve had almost forgotten about his sorry existence. The tip offs that had led to some good stories, some bad, and some completely made up in the hopes of conning the reporter out of some cash. But he never begrudged Twig on that front. It was part of the game and part of his job to separate the fact from the fiction. They had never been friends, but Steve had at least respected the man in a certain way. He didn't deserve what happened to him, didn't deserve the junkies death. To be but a footnote in the obituaries, 'Here lies another addict, dying a selfish and self inflicted death. Will not be missed.'. Steve promised himself there that he would make it his duty to miss the man who no-one else would. Because he was aware that his own obituary may well read the same someday.

And he was also pretty certain that Twig had been murdered.

Remembered the last conversation he'd had with the man, how he'd seemed shaken and afraid. How he was obviously too high and too drunk, how he'd rambled on and on. Snatches made sense, most was nonsense. Their conversation had returned to what they always ended up on, Steve's theory. The theory that suggested that all these strange goings on, this spike in organised crimes and high end targeting were all linked. Remembered Twig's words clear as day.

"_It__'__s spreading mate, and I know it__'__s true what you__'__ve been saying. Something big is comin. I __'__ear a lot of shit __'__bout it ya know? Rumours everywhere, whispers from __'__ere to Whitechapel. Got a mate in Liverpool who thinks Voldemort__'__s been resurrected, can ya believe that? Nutter __'__im. Some people going round saying it__'__s some muggle organisation trying to get a piece, saying our covers blown. One bloke I met swears down that it__'__s just the one muggle who__'__s parents were killed by wizards, vengance shit. Rubbish, I says. You and me Steve eh? We know what__'__s going on, we just can__'__t see it yet. Like looking out through the window at night with the light still on. It__'__s there, we just can__'__t see it. Fuck knows, I__'__ll probably be dead soon anyway. The one thing I know mate, is that whoever it is, it__'__s someone new, young. I__'__ve heard it__'__s a kid. The one you__'__re looking for, the one no-one believes exists is a fuckin kid. And I believe it as well. And I ain__'__t ever been so afraid in all me life.__"_

Steve had pressed and pressed, but that was the last bit of sense he had been able to get out of Twig as he sobbed and shook and drank before disappearing to the bathroom. He had waited and waited but he never came back. It seemed stupid now, but to be honest, Steve had pretty much dismissed Twig's claims as those of a drunken delusional. He had never been the most reliable source and he was clearly off his head that night on something. How he was regretting that stance as he carried on searching the dead mans shoes.

He gave up searching when he felt his hand begin to shake and the dull ache in his head throbbing stronger. It had been happening alarmingly often lately, the withdrawal symptoms. Hadn't had a drink since the previous evening when he'd polished off three bottles of cheap and nasty red wine just sitting in his chair, staring into the abyss of nothingness. His eyes fell on the bookshelf again and he laughed and quoted aloud.

"_Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly. In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder."_

Laughed again and resolved to finish up and find the nearest bar. There was nothing here at all, not even a breadcrumb. Looked around once more at the contents of a mans life before turning to leave.

But it wasn't right, he stopped himself reaching out for the door handle. It wasn't right at all. He'd known it since he'd seen it that it just didn't make sense. It had no place here. I mean, Twig, a fucking Christian? Rushed back to the bookcase and yanked the Bible of the shelf. Ran his hands over it, turned every page. It seemed normal. But it wasn't right. With his shaking hands he pulled out his wand and began a thorough study of the volume, tracing his wand along the spine and the cover. There was magic there, that much was obvious. A concealment spell of some kind? No, no, that wasn't Twig. Wards, that was him. He'd been an expert at disabling the most complex of defensive wards when he was a young man, and although his abilities had waned in his later years, he was still good enough to manipulate that skill to hide something. Steve tried spell after spell, everything he had in his locker, every relevant piece of magic he knew, but he couldn't get it to open its secrets. Eventually he put down his wand and sighed. Smacked the book on his head numerous time in anger before leaving it there with his forehead against it's bruised cover.

"For fuck sake Twig you canny bastard," he whispered defeated. "I'm trying to help you here."

The shift in the air was immediate. He opened his eyes and stared at the book as it glowed briefly before settling again. He opened the first page and before his very eyes the scripture began to change, the gospels forgotten as they were replaced by a long, messy slanted scrawl. Dates and times, names and places. A diary wasn't the right word, more like a ledger. As he flicked through he discovered his own name a few times alongside pubs or clubs they had met at. Steve had always thought that these were coincidental meetings, but it was obvious that Twig had planned them all meticulously. Alongside his were names of criminals and junkies, dealers and lawyers, all with the time and meeting place next to them. He began to go through the pages like a flick book, but suddenly the pages were blank. He carefully tracked back to find the last page and entry, possibly the last person to see the thief alive, quite possibly the person he was looking for, the person behind everything, the person that proved his theory correct, the person who meant to start a war and emerge from the chaos triumphant.

_October 18__th__ \- The Hogs Head, Hogsmeade._

_Scorpius Malfoy and Eleonora Jago._

* * *

Elle's hand shook slightly as she bought her cigarette up to her lips. Her, Scorpius and Laetitia were sat in the house staring at the computer screens in front of them. Staring at Draco Malfoy being humiliated and terrified by his own son. Long distance torture. Laetitia, ash white and uncomfortable, muttered something about getting some fresh air and stood up, leaving Elle and Scorpius alone. She looked at the screen, saw the fear etched on Draco's face, saw him move blindly through the darkness, insects crawling all over him. Admired him for continuing, she probably wouldn't. Glanced at Scorpius and hated what she saw. A look of barely suppressed glee at the terror his father was feeling.

"That's enough now Scorpius." she said in a hard voice.

"No it's fucking not." he growled back, nose almost touching the screen.

"For God sake, what the fuck is wrong with you?" she spat. "Look at him, your own fucking father!"

"He fucks with me, I fuck with him worse."

Scorpius tapped the keyboard and the nursery rhyme began.

"_One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. All good children go to heaven.__"_

"You're a fucking psychopath Malfoy. Can you even see yourself right now?" Elle tried one last time to talk to him, to get through to him, to save him from himself.

Malfoy shot her a look briefly before turning back to his father.

"You forgetting what he did to us? We could have been thrown in Azkaban, could have been killed, all because we got in his way! He was willing to throw his own son under the bus. So yes, I can see myself, I can see him, and yes I'm fucking enjoying this. It serves him right." he finished, his tone cold and final.

Elle couldn't do anything about it. He was set, his mind was made up. The hatred, the bubbling tension between him and his father had been threatening to blow ever since she had met him, and this was it. She hated it. She hated Scorpius, hated that she was also responsible for this, she was sitting there doing nothing to stop his madness. Part of her still thought she could bring Scorpius back to who he was before, who they were before. But then she remembered what he had done to her father, to Adelaide, the whole mess. But this was it, she said to herself. This was going to end tonight and she had to see it through. So here she was, cowardly doing nothing whilst a man, not necessarily a good man but still a human being, was psychologically and physically tortured in front of her. It ends tonight. Please God let it end tonight.

"I'm going to find Laetitia," she sighed, defeated. "Wrap this up soon and call me when we're ready."

He dismissed her with a wave of his hand, she wasn't shocked by the rudeness. She exited the room, closing the door and leaning back on it for a moment. Embarrassingly she felt the wetness in her eyes. She was utterly exhausted by it all. Sick and tired of running around chasing down leads, of trying to maintain a fragile peace at Hogwarts, of sorting through her feelings in regards to a certain redhead, and most of all of attempting to maintain the belief that Scorpius Malfoy was a fundamentally decent human being and that her best friend was still in there. She thought she might have lost him forever. Wandered around the house for a bit looking for Laetitia, one of the few bright spots in her life who never failed to cheer her up with that mix of obnoxiousness and sweetness. Couldn't find her anywhere in the house so she pulled on her coat and headed to the bar down the road that they had frequented over the months they had now known each other. Knew she would be in there and trusted that Malfoy would call her when it was time to finish this. She found Laetitia sat glumly at the bar, some ridiculous looking cocktail in front of her.

"What the fuck is that thing?" Elle asked as she slid into the stool next to her.

"I dunno, the barman was trying something out. I think it has sambuca in it if that helps."

"Sambuca never helped anyone," Elle laughed, her eyes shining with a thought forgotten memory "Drunkest I've ever been was thanks to black sambuca. We were in this bar called the Elevens, shut down now I think, I was dancing with this bloke but I had my eye on this girl in the corner, alternative looking, all piercing and tattoos, bit of a weirdo really …."

"Says the girl with the purple hipster hair." Laetitia grinned.

"Fuck off," she shoved Laetitia in the shoulder playfully. "But yeah, I caught her eye, started making her a bit jealous then went to the bar. Knew she'd follow me and she did. So I try all my best lines but I'm getting nothing from her, so I'm like 'Why the fuck did you follow me here if you ain't even gonna talk ?'. Again nothing, so I start walking away, but just as I'm about to go she flags down the barman and orders ten black samuels and her voice, I'm telling you was one of the hottest things I've ever heard, can't even explain it. Now I'm thinking the ice has been broken and I'm all worked up again ready to go, but still this girl won't talk to me. She just gestures at the shots. And I'm sick of it, I mean who does this girl think she is? So for some reason in that moment I want to shock her or impress her or something so I just start doing the shots, one, two, three, four….."

"You necked ten shots?"

"I got to six and then I threw up all over her." Elle laughed.

"No way! You actually threw up on her?" Laetitia gasped for air through the laughter.

"Yes. Yes I did."

"You're a fucking animal Jago. What did she do then?" Laetitia asked.

"Well," Elle lowered her voice and leant in closer, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Turned out she was really into it, you know, vomit and all that stuff. Snuff and that."

"What the actual fuck!" Laetitia exclaimed in disgust, a look of horror. "She liked that shit?"

"Jesus Christ you're so gullible Laetitia," Elle laughed. "Course not. She fucking clocked me one didn't she, right on the eye. Didn't feel it at the time cos I was so pissed but it hurt for weeks. Scorpius had to carry me home…."

And there it was. There was the problem. For her, it always came back to him. Every good memory she had, every funny story she could tell to people in pubs, every piece of her, was wholly connected to Scorpius Malfoy. They had been together for so long, best friends since her life began again, partners in every sense of the word. Deeper than romantic entanglements, than sibling rivalries, than parental bonds. Everything she was and everything she had been. There was no way around it. How could she look back on anything now? He'd tainted everything.

"Everything's not ok is it Elle." Laetitia broke the silence that had taken hold.

It was a statement, not a question.

Elle looked around the bar, almost dead. A couple of suits in the corner, a mother and daughter working their way through what was obviously not their first bottle of wine judging by the louder than normal voices and sloppy demeanours. And then along the bar a few seats down, a tatty looking man reading the Racing Post, occasionally circling things with a red biro. Lives going on around them, people with their own concerns, their own demons. Everyone has their own shit.

"I'm sorry for running out like that," Laetitia interrupted her thoughts. "It was hard you know, watching that. I know it's necessary and I know we're just doing what needs to be done but I'm still new to all this and I can't help think I've jumped in a little too deep. It was exciting, the first time I mean. I think it was anyway. But this just felt different."

"Do you know though?" Elle sighed.

"What?" Laetitia replied confused.

"Do you know it's necessary?" Elle answered. "Do you think what he's doing is necessary? Torture, is that necessary, is that what we are now? You say you're in too deep Laetitia but what if I am as well?"

Laetitia went quiet and took a sip of her drink, Elle knew she was waiting for an explanation, but it took her some time to find the right words.

"I mean, we're criminals right? Me and Malfoy have been doing this since we were kids, I met you when you were in prison, all our contacts and acquaintances are thieves and god knows what else, so I guess I don't exactly have the moral high ground. Don't get me wrong, I've never been under any illusions about what I am. I lie and cheat almost everyone I meet, I'm always looking for the angle, the way in. I see most people as targets not as human beings. But up until recently I still thought that I wasn't a bad person. That Scorpius wasn't a bad person. Sure we did some dodgy things but it was just a laugh, a way to prove ourselves and our intellectual superiority, and also have fun, make a bit of money. Now though? My best friend is torturing his father, weeks after I did the same thing to Teddy Lupin. I fucking tortured him Laetitia! Like some awful spook or assassin or something. I did that. So no Laetitia. Everything is not ok."

She looked across sideways at Laetitia and saw that she was staring straight back at her, a look on her face that Elle didn't recognize, hadn't seen before.

"You're a good person Elle. You are." she said firmly.

"No, I'm not. How can I be after what I've done?"

"Look fucking hell, good people do bad things all the time, it don't make them evil, it just makes them fucking human. Good people do bad things and bad people do good things, and the world keeps on turning."

Spinning on it's axis, turning, turning and turning. Elle was reminded again of the dream she had all that time ago, just when things were unravelling. Green and red, snakes and lions. Turning and turning.

Elle's phone vibrated in her pocket, but she was still in the depths of the memory when she reached and answered for it on autopilot, as if it was an instinct ingrained into her very DNA.

"_Right, he__'__ll be here in five. We__'__re ready to do it_." Scorpius' voice came through.

"Do what?" Elle questioned absentmindedly, not paying any attention.

"_Start the fucking Buffy marathon_," Scorpius spat back sarcastically. "_What the fuck do you think Steele_?"

"Don't fucking call me that ever again." Elle growled.

"_Be here or don__'__t. Whatever, I__'__m starting in five.__"_

Elle hung up the phone, almost shaking with rage. Steele, not Jago, not Eleonora, not Elle. Christ not even Laura. That's what this had come to. Passive or outward aggression, subtle or not so subtle digs, not even really attempting to mask the truth that they were broken apart. Almost totally.

Broken.

"We're not good people Laetitia. Not me, not you, and certainly not Malfoy. So let's just finish this."

They stood up together and walked out of the bar.

Steve Mackay waited a moment, tucked his Racing Post into his jacket pocket, hopped off his stool, and followed them out of the door.

* * *

The scene that greeted the two girls when they returned to the house was not a particularly pleasant one. Draco Malfoy was slumped on a chair in the middle of the drawing room, bound at his hands and ankles. He was bruised and battered, blood was still coming out of his head wound. Elle muttered a quick healing spell, hearing a tut from behind her. Scorpius was as emotionless as she had ever seen him, his eyes pins and his expression totally blank. A slight shake in his hand gave him away however. He was nervous for probably the first time in a long time.

"You want me to let him bleed to death in our house do you?" Elle shot sarcastically at him.

"Your house?" Draco wheezed out interrupting, raising his head slightly to make eye contact with her. "Unless the property laws have changed drastically in this country I think you'll find that we are in my wife's house, who as far as I am aware is still shuffling along this mortal coil."

"Well, it is my inheritance." Scorpius grinned at his near broken father.

"I love the fact that you think you've got any sort of inheritance coming after this little stunt Scorpius. What's it all about anyway? Did I miss your birthday again? Has daddy not shown you enough love?" Draco mocked.

"Nothing as trivial father, I assure you."

"Well then, please do enlighten me. Because I thought I was about to make the discovery of the century an hour ago and now I find myself tied up in my own wife's house. Quite a turn of events really."

"You know why you're here Mr Malfoy." Elle spoke up.

"I must say I'm surprised at you Eleonora," Draco ignored her, his tone that of a disappointed teacher. "My son is obviously a complete sociopath, but you? I didn't think this would really be your thing at all. And do I spy the Patil girl over there? You can only be about fifteen love. Kids these days. It must be true what they say about all those violent video games and rap music …."

"And I'm surprised at you Draco," Elle went on the attack, she was in this now, no point in half measures. "Allowing yourself to be in this position. Aren't you supposed to be the best? The Ministry's in house Dark Arts expert? All that time spent with Lucius and Voldemort, snivelling like a coward, watching them murder people cos they felt like it, doing some murdering yourself if the rumours are to be believed, and you still couldn't tell an atmospheric manipulation charm apart from the real thing. Yeah, your son maybe a sociopath but he is a fucking genius."

"I personally think he just needs to find the right girl, maybe take up a hobby," Draco staged whispered, still seemingly unruffled. "What do you think son? Bit of badminton perhaps, or maybe poetry about how poor and tortured you 'geniuses' are. You could be the next Morrissey….."

Scorpius merely smiled at his father, who was grinning back. It was such an odd relationship, Elle realised. They didn't like each other, probably didn't love each other despite how it was supposed to work, but they knew each other so well that it was impossible for them to ever be anything but father and son. She looked across at Laetitia whose brow was furrowed in confusion and perhaps worry. There was still a glint in her eye however, the same glint that Elle knew was probably in her own. That excitement, that rush, that adrenaline.

"Shall we get down to it then kids?" Draco said enthusiastically before descending into a coughing fit.

"Not sounding too good there Draco," Scorpius smirked.

"Think I ate something funny earlier."

"Don't you dare throw up on my floor."

"I'm starting to think you're a little bit simple with all this talk about 'yours'. This is not the cat world Scorpius. Just because you piss on something it doesn't make it yours."

"How do you think I got these shoes? Pure dragonhide."

"As amusing as this 'banter' is," Elle interrupted, "Can we please stick to the relevant bits."

"Absolutely right Eleonora," Draco nodded. "Am I to presume that the Blackwood has not in fact been discovered then?"

"Course it bloody hasn't you fool," Scorpius said. "I just fed a story to a few Goblins we did some business with last year and made sure Anton Tschosky picked them up. You think I'm simple you should meet them, thick as pig shit the lot of them. I must admit, I didn't expect you to get there so early, thought it may take Anton a few more days to make the link."

"He's smarter than he looks. I imagine he won't be very happy when he finds out he's not going to get paid."

"Least of your problems now old man." Scorpius grinned.

"Okay then, let's get to the point. Why exactly am I here Scorpius, what imagined wrong have I done to you and your own?"

"The Resurrection Stone." Elle cleared the picture baldly.

Draco leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Ah …." he sighed. "That."

"Yes, that." Elle replied.

"You're going to tell us the truth now father. I'm not going to torture you, I'm not going to use Veritaserum, I'm sure you've got an antidote vile hidden in a tooth somewhere anyway. The games up and you're going to tell us everything."

"Starting with this." Elle took over, moving closer to the tied up man with the dossier that had caused them so much grief in her hands. She showed him the contents. For a moment, just a moment, his eyes shone with confusion, then what looked awfully like fear although she could have been mistaken, before that was quickly replaced by acceptance.

"You compiled this didn't you father?" Scorpius said gently. "You got Twig to deliver it to us because …. Because why Draco?"

Draco sighed and closed his eyes once again.

"Whatever you think of me Scorpius, I do care for you. You are my son and the son of the woman I love."

"How touching. We should form a family band," Scorpius sneered back, the first cracks appearing in his façade. "Get to the fucking point!"

"I compiled that because I was worried. You were … no, still are, spiralling out of control. I was concerned. So I had someone tail you for months. You were meeting with drug dealers, Chechen fucking gangsters, that bloody swine Nagnok and his crew. And then I find out you're after the Resurrection Stone. Bane is an old friend of mine by the way and he came to me straight away when you were asking questions. He stuck to his story, to the fabled lies we spun, but I was still troubled. Do you have any idea how dangerous that stone is? What damage you could do by tampering with it?"

"That's the problem with you and your fucking world," Scorpius raised his voice. "So adverse to progress, to risk taking, to fucking innovation! We've been put on this planet and given this gift, and all you lot want to do is tie our hands behind our back."

"My hands are literally tied behind my back at the moment." Draco quipped, causing Elle to let out an involuntary laugh, earning a disapproving look from Scorpius in the process.

"Very funny." Scorpius drawled.

"Thank you son. Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, the stone. That was the last straw. I'd tracked it down, it had taken years and a considerable sum of money, but I had it. Then you come along, barging in, threatening to not only damage yourself, but also damage me and my plans. The Ministry was doing a crackdown on organised crime, the initial stage was to send those dossiers out anonymously and shake some trees, see who runs, who stays, that kind of thing. Trying to avoid messy trials and court cases I think. So, I of course knew about this and decided to piggy back onto it and distract you from your efforts to find the stone. I knew that if I'd worked out Joanne Joyce's involvement, then it was only a matter of time before you did, so I had to act fast. I hoped that you would see it as a warning, that you would step back, concentrate on school and lay off the illegal activities. But I was obviously mistaken. Next thing I know I'm hearing rumours that you broke into the Ministry and that you almost killed poor Teddy Lupin."

"Teddy Lupin is a prick." Scorpius dismissed.

"Teddy Lupin is a man who gave up everything for his beliefs. He is more of a man than you and me will ever be."

"We thought it was him initially," Elle admitted to Draco. "Thought Unity had blackmailed us into breaking into the Ministry."

"Makes sense," Draco nodded. "But I'm afraid that Unity are just what they appear to be. And they have now been upgraded to terrorists in the Prophet. But that is besides the point. So there we go, there's the truth. It wasn't some grand conspiracy Scorpius, wasn't some elaborate plot. It was just about an old man trying and spectacularly failing to help his son."

Scorpius nodded and lit a cigarette, moving away into the corner of the room. Elle and Laetitia followed him with slight trepidation.

"So, that's it then?" Laetitia asked. "The big mystery solved?"

"That's it." Scorpius confirmed.

"Well, at least we're not going to end up in Azkaban."

"There is that," Scorpius said through a tired smile. "Do you mind clearing up here Elle? I need to get out of here for a while."

"Of course." Elle nodded.

"We will have a conversation about all of this soon," Scorpius sighed. "Just not now. But please know that I am sorry things have turned out this way."

"Yeah, not now eh?" Elle agreed. Scorpius went to pat her on the shoulder, before thinking better of it, leaving his hand hanging in mid air. He looked at it for a moment before coming round and moving over to his father.

"It's been a pleasure as always father," he nodded at Draco. "Elle will clean you up and take you wherever you want to go, it's probably no safe for you to apparate." he made to leave before turning back.

"And from now on, stay out of my fucking business or things will get a lot worse. Take this as a warning."

* * *

Elle and Laetitia were left alone with Draco. Elle looked at her friend and was pleased to see she had held up well. She looked a little pale, but things had gone smoothly and for that Elle was grateful.

"Hey, Laetitia," she smilingly got the girls attention pulling out a ticket from her pocket and handing it to her.

"What's this," Laetitia laughed. "Les Mis! You are my hero Elle!"

"Wanted to thank you for your help and for keeping it together."

"You didn't have to." Laetitia grinned.

"I know, but hey, that's what friends do right? Anyway, it starts in an hour so you better get moving. Don't worry, I'll take care of Mr Malfoy here, you go on and enjoy yourself."

"You sure, cos I don't mind staying…"

"Away with you," Elle shooed her out the door. "For fuck sake go and have fun, or as much fun as can be had at a musical about death."

She shoved Laetitia out of the door with a goodbye and went back into the room to deal with Draco.

"Well this has been a bit intense," Draco said. "Can you untie me now please."

"In a minute," Elle pulled up a chair and sat opposite him, looking him directly in the eye. "I just have one more question."

"Fire away then Miss Jago."

Elle took a deep breath and went with her instinct.

"I want to know why you've spent the last hour totally lying to us."


	24. At the Bottom of Everything

"_Everybody lives and everybody dies. The only two certainties.__"__ \- Draco Malfoy_

* * *

"I want to know why you've spent the last hour totally lying to us."

Draco's eyes never shifted from her own, his face was a blank canvas, showing nothing, no flicker, no spark, just stone. She didn't let herself look away though, didn't allow any doubt to creep into her mind. He'd been lying, she knew that, she just fucking _knew_.

"I don't think I follow Eleonora." Draco spoke slowly and softly.

"Oh I think you do Draco."

"I assure you, I do not."

"You know how I know you've spoken nothing but invented shit since you got here? The truth has a vagueness, always has. You know when someone's telling the truth when they leave something out, when they forget something, when you have to press it out of them. But you? Too mechanical Draco, too on the nose. Too perfect. No truth is ever that simple. So what was it? Small truths to mask the bigger lie, or small lies to hide the bigger truth?" she asked him, keeping her tone calm and deliberate.

"You two are losing it," Draco began, a smile painted on his face that Elle didn't like. It was sadistic. "Tell me, what has happened between you and my son? Why so frosty kid? What's he done? Did you think you were special, that you were the one who could control him, you were the one he trusted implicitly? You poor fool. The boy is beyond anyone, you must see that. At least I tried to do something! But what the hell have you done Elle? Just encouraged him, egged him on, allowed it to spiral and spiral and spiral. You're supposed to be his friend aren't you? Well good job kid. Look what he's become, look at what you've done."

"Me? You're his fucking father!" Elle shouted incredulously. "I always defended you to him you know. Always fucking did. Cos I know how hard it must have been to have someone like him as a son, someone so fucking precocious, someone who could change the world at the drop of a hat. I mean, how the hell do you deal with that? So fucking hell Draco try looking at yourself before putting this on me!"

Draco grinned at her.

"Why do you do it Elle? Why do you defend us, father and son?"

"Because I know that deep down you're both good people."

Draco laughed loudly.

"Oh, grow the fuck up Eleonora! Look around you. Good people? Do me a favour. You haven't the slightest idea who I am, what I've done. And Scorpius? Jesus Christ, that boy has more darkness in him than me. There are no good people in our world, not really."

"That's not true." Elle insisted.

"Of course it is!" Draco laughed again. "The lies we tell ourselves. Magic …. It's not a gift, it's a _plague. _Witches and Wizards? Just a catastrophic lottery of evolutionary accidents, an unnatural offshoot of man that has somehow staggered its way through the centuries. I've seen the best and the worst of this world, and the only conclusion I've been able to draw is that they both look pretty fucking similar."

"And you think I'm losing it?" Elle spat at him. "Listen to yourself Draco. No good people? What about Harry Potter? He was willing to die to protect the good people you and your family was trying to murder!"

"The boy who lived," Draco smirked. "You want to know about Harry Potter? You know nothing kid. Do you know where he is? No? Top floor of St Mungos, locked away in a padded cell. He tried to kill his own wife, woke up in the night and thought she was a Death Eater come to kill him."

"You're lying."

"Am I?" Draco chuckled, utterly relaxed. "Did you think it would have a happy ending? Think it ended there, with a sandwich and a kip? You ain't naive enough to think that, surely. He was a child, groomed by a manipulative old man to plunge head first into the worst kind of darkness through the first 18 years of his life! And he was supposed to come out the other side all ok? He was a child! Fucking hell, I'm surprised his mind lasted intact as long as it did. Trust me, I'd know. We're all monsters Elle, every single one of us. Him, me, my son, and you,"

He smiled at her again, it was as if she was translucent under his gaze, as if he was seeing straight down into the depths of her very soul.

"And you know what? I think you Eleonora might just be the worst of us all."

"Stop it," she breathed out. "Just stop it."

"That's it isn't it?" Draco whispered. "From the very first time I saw you I knew. It's the eyes, it's always the eyes. They can tell a person things that even that person doesn't know about themselves. But you do know, don't you Elle? You know exactly what you are."

"Don't." she choked out, begging him to stop talking.

The walls were closing in on her. Everything she was and had been, all the faces and poses, all the names and numbers, all the lovers and strangers. All the small lies that masked the bigger truth. The biggest truth that she'd even managed to hide from herself.

"You know why you frighten me so much Elle?" Draco pushed, weaving his way around her mind. "It's because I know that you're not afraid of pain, not afraid of suffering, not afraid of Death itself. And that's it. That's what puts you so far above everyone else, so far beyond them. Every genius, every great mind is obsessed with it. Dumbledore, Voldemort, my son, it was, or will be, their downfall. Their greatest weakness. No, the true genius accepts what it is, accepts Death as the one hurdle that can never be overcome. Everybody lives and everybody dies. The only two certainties. You accept that, then you beat it. Immortality isn't defeating Death, no, it's merely running scared. The only way to defeat it is to embrace it when it is your time. That's how you win."

"Don't say it," Elle tried one last time, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please Draco."

"You're not afraid of Death because you're already dead aren't you Elle? Inside, in the dark reaches of yourself, there's a nothingness there. An emptiness, a resignation. The life you had was taken away with every one of his touches, every whisky soaked breath on your neck, every …"

"CRUCIO!"

Draco roared in pain and toppled over on the chair, writhing and screaming as Elle stood over him, breathing hard and crying harder, wand pointing North.

"Here you are," Draco wheezed out, even letting out a small laugh. "The real you. Did you pick up on it when you did it to Lupin? Pick up that it felt so right to be doing this? This is who you are Elle!"

"CRUCIO!" she screamed again, the hate flowing through her like it never had before, not even close. It was longer this time, the pain inflicted. It seemed to just go on and on, on an endless loop of screams and moans.

Until it stopped.

Elle looked at her wand and the man in front, lying on his side still bound to the fallen chair. Hurt on every inch of his face, but still the smirk. Still the look of amusement in those eyes.

"One day Laura Steele, you're going to burn the world."

Suddenly, popping sounds filled the air causing Elle to cover her ears and hit the floor. As she looked up, ten figures had materialised in the room, surrounding her and Draco in a circle, dressed in all black, masks covering their faces and wands pointed directly at her prone form.

Pain. Pain like she'd hadn't felt in a long time, coursing through every bone in her body, shaking her from within. It felt like her organs were rattling around inside of her, trying desperately to break out of their shells. She screamed and screamed, everything disappearing until there was only her and hurt. They were apart and they were one. They were together, it seemed forever entwined. Through the haze, she distinguished a voice.

"_ENOUGH!__"_

Blissful nothing.

"What the hell took you so long?" she heard Draco's voice through the relief.

"Scrambler spell, one of the best I've ever seen," a voice Elle didn't recognize replied. "Took us an hour to break."

"An hour? My son is slacking," Draco replied. "You're lucky, he was obviously having an off day."

Elle felt herself being lifted gently up, but she was still all over the place. Her body was experiencing dull ache all over. So this is how it felt. This is what she had done to another human being. Pain and pain and pain.

"Eleonora …. Elle." Draco was saying. She found herself sat on he same chair that he had been chained to previously. She looked around blearily.

"Well, you didn't think that I wouldn't have back up did you?" Draco smirked.

"You were stalling." Elle managed to gasp out.

"Well, obviously."

"What word on the Blackwood sir?" a harsh female voice ground out from behind her.

"False alarm." Draco replied.

"What are we doing with this one then," the woman growled. "Back to the black site for a um ….. _Debriefing_?"

The way the woman said it made Elle shudder. She'd heard rumours of these Ministry off sites, proper Guantanamo stuff. She couldn't go there, she couldn't.

"No," Draco said firmly, much to her relief. "That will not be necessary."

"Boss, can I remind you that we just found you half dead and tied to a chair?" the woman responded incredulously.

"And need I remind you that I am your superior," Draco sent back coolly. "A simple misunderstanding here, nothing to concern yourself with. Get back to the office, I'll follow presently."

"But boss…"

"GO!" Draco shouted. "That's an order!"

The unknown figures all sheepishly apparated with a pop, leaving Elle and Draco alone again, only this time the tables were well and truly turned. He crouched down to her level, lifting her chin and looking her in the eye.

"This is where we part ways for now Laura. But a word of warning before I go. If you stay here, if you stay with my son, you'll either end dead or something much worse. Trust me on that."

Elle stared defiantly back and spat in his face. Draco sighed and wiped the saliva off with his sleeve.

"Be careful Laura. Dawn is rising."

And he was gone.

* * *

"Move along Weasley." Parkinson sneered.

Rufus smirked as Rose Weasley bowed her head and walked on by, the arrogance that so often adorned her face replaced by a defeated countenance. He was careful to leave his shoulder jutting out as she brushed past, causing her to stumble. She looked briefly like she would retaliate like her old self, but then she cast her eyes down and continued on her way.

"Different world now Weasley," he shouted at her retreating form. "Give Potter my best!"

The Slytherin's he was gathered with in the courtyard all laughed and he sat back down on the bench, basking in the moment. For the first time since the days of Tom Riddle, Slytherin house was back on top and it was thanks to him. His decision. His movement. His leadership….

Okay, this was going a little far. It shouldn't have turned out like this. Albus Potter should have won, Eleonora Jago should have been brushed aside. But she wasn't. He had been congratulated by his house on his choice of dueller, had his hand shaken by each and every one of his housemates who all asked the question, all wondered at his perceived masterstroke. Why the hell did she step up? What the hell happened to Scorpius Malfoy, the most talented wizard of his generation? Why the switch? He answered all these questions with a shrug and an enigmatic smile. He took the praise, took the plaudits.

What no-one knew was that he had been told to do it. He had been told to write the name Eleonora Jago in the box.

He had been furious at the time. Couldn't understand it, still didn't. When Teddy Lupin had contacted him, he was dumbstruck by the request. It was a duel in a school, a silly game of Lucy Weasley's. Yes, the consequences were important, but only in the realms of the castle, not in the outside world. There was a war coming and a Unity leader was getting involved in a school dispute? What the hell was going on? But the instructions were clear. Scorpius Malfoy is not to duel. Eleonora Jago will replace him. You will tell no-one that I told you to do this. Not ever. There was no rhyme nor reason, he was given no more than that. It was ridiculous. He was so close, so, _so _close to ignoring his leader. Because she wouldn't win, it was as simple as that. This whole charade was stupid, something he in no way wanted to be involved in in the first place and now he had to throw his houses reputation away beyond retrieval and live in hell for another year.

But he followed the order, because it was the _fucking Wolf _who gave it.

He still had no idea, no idea whatsoever what was going on. But he had a sneaking suspicion that things hadn't turned out quite as planned for anyone. Surely Lupin didn't expect her to win did he? No, Rufus thought that Lupin meant for Slytherin to lose the duel, meant for Eleonora to lose. But why? Why her? That was the question he needed to answer, that was the question that was plaguing him. That was the question that was keeping him awake at night and beginning for the first time to doubt the movement he had put so much in to.

Somehow she had won. Obnoxiousness, crazy, impulsive, wild, infuriating, selfish Eleonora had beaten Albus Potter and their world had changed. The Gryffindor's lost their superiority complex overnight and the Slytherin's were buoyed. Meal times were dominated by the Slytherin's raucous shouts and jeers, with little or no response from their sworn enemies. The wounded lion tamed. The Ravenclaw's and Hufflepuff's who would normally take the other side in everything suddenly began to withdraw support in the corridors for any Gryffindor hostility and the Slytherin's took advantage. It felt like a turning point.

And then came the double whammy. The Unity attack on the Daily Prophet, so simple and elegant in it's execution, so perfectly staged. No casualties, no-one hurt, just a big fuck you to the Ministry and their supporters. A PR triumph. And the Ministry response was laughable and played right into their hands, Ronald Weasley, a divisive figure even amongst moderates, promoted to Minister of Magic, the upgrading of Unity to terrorists. It was exactly what they wanted. Not only had the stunt drawn attention to their movement, it had also created an environment in which people were begin to question the Ministry more and more, precisely because of their response. The Ministry had only just stopped short of declaring war with their actions, and the average wizard on the street was beginning, just beginning to lose faith in it's leaders. Just beginning to ask questions. An article had appeared briefly in the Quibbler, it's first edition in years, before having it's offices raided by the Ministry in a extraordinary example of the suppression of freedom of speech in action, that exposed the treatment of prisoners in Azkaban and the overwhelming numbers of ex Slytherin's who had been in there for years without a fair trial. The world he wanted, the world he was fighting for was becoming a reality, small step by small step.

But still, he was troubled. He had made some discreet enquiries with a couple of outside associate, but had come up almost empty handed. However, he sensed something. Something intangible in the air, something that was happening in the shadows. And he had a name.

"It's her!" Parkinson shouted excitedly, breaking him from his musings. "Eleonora! Eleonora!"

He stood up quickly and pushed his way to the front of his group. He hadn't seen her since the duel. Scorpius Malfoy had apparently told the Headmistress that she would be taking the next couple of weeks off the day after, before promptly disappearing as well. And now she was back. She didn't look great. She's lost weight and the spark in her eye had been dimmed. She brushed past them all, pausing slightly when she got to him, but not stopping.

"Follow." she muttered.

As Rufus obeyed her and moved into the castle, he made the decision. He was going to tell her everything. He was going to tell her that Teddy Lupin had been responsible. Because he needed to know, needed to know what he was getting mixed up in. He just wanted to change the world, he didn't want to be a part of anything more sinister. And putting a young teenager, someone he would call, if not a friend, then at least a respected acquaintance, in the line of fire, was certainly causing alarm bells to ring. He needed to know what was going on.

They weaved through the castle, not speaking a word, attracting stares as they He observed her subtly as they walked side by side. His first assessment had been correct. She looked awful, pale and empty, her black hood framing her gaunter than usual face. Her movements were slower and he saw her wince occasionally, holding her side at points. All in all, she looked broken.

They turned a corner on the way to the dungeons, and they ran straight into a group of Gryffindor's including Dominique and Lucy Weasley and the shy and awkward Lily Potter. He smirked at them and Dominique began to sneer, glaring at Elle and opening her mouth to begin an obvious verbal assault. Within seconds, without prompt, Eleonora slashed her wand and Dominique was pinned to the wall, immobilized and unable to move.

"Elle …." he attempted to diffuse, but he was cut off by a look. She stalked towards Dom, getting right into her face and whispering in her ear.

"Not today you fucking cunt. Don't make me break you like I broke your fucking cousin."

This was new, Rufus thought. She was scaring him. It was like looking at Malfoy at his worst and most menacing, but it was even more chilling coming from her. There were no jokes, no cutting put downs or biting sarcasm, just pure hatred. Had he done this, he thought to himself? Was this his fault? His and Teddy Lupin's? Surely not, there had to be something else. No-one was coming to Dominique's aid until, much to his surprise Lily Potter stepped forward with trepidation, placing her hand on Elle's arm. Eleonora span round and shrugged the arm off, pointing her wand straight at the Potter girl. Then Rufus saw her eyes. They were dim, but wild at the same time, a kind of dull gleam that oozed coldness. No-one spoke for a moment as Elle continued to point her wand at a terrified but defiant looking Lily Potter.

"Eleonora, stop it!" he urged quietly, but there was no response.

"Elle ….." Lily began in a small voice. "Are you ok?"

No response again, just that dead eyed stare. The students observing the scene were backing up to the wall, frightened expressions across the board. The light of the corridor seemed to be disappearing and it was if Eleonora and Lily were the only ones there.

"Eleonora!" he tried again. "Come on, let's go."

She finally looked at him, and deflated in front of his eyes. She looked smaller than ever to him, but he doubted anyone else noticed. He glanced at Lily Potter who was gazing at Elle with both fear, but also a certain tenderness and maybe even worry? Just as he thought things couldn't get more complicated.

"Ok, let's go Edwards," Elle finally broke the silence, but she made no move to leave. Looking around, lingering on Lily and Lucy Weasley, she spoke to the crowd. "If any Gryffindor comes near me again, I'll fucking hurt them like they've never been hurt before, understand? The Weasley and Potter name means nothing to me and it won't protect you. So, back the fuck off. LEAVE!

The students all scattered, Lily Potter reluctantly being pulled away by Lucy.

"You're a psychopath Jago!" Lucy hissed. Eleonora just looked at her and Lucy soon faltered, leaving Rufus alone with Elle.

"Okaaay ….." Rufus began. "That was intense."

"Come on." Elle muttered.

* * *

They carried on through the maze of the castle, eventually reaching the dungeons, where Elle opened the door of an empty classroom and sat on the desk at the front, lighting a cigarette. Rufus looked around hesitantly, unsure where to the begin the conversation, but was saved by Elle speaking up.

"So then Rufus, shall we cut to the chase?"

"Of course," Rufus replied. "First off, let me apologise for my deceptions. There were forces outside my control."

"And I had it pegged as some petty attempt to humiliate me….."

"Why would I want to humiliate you?" Rufus asked, confused. "You are my housemate. You're a Slytherin. That means something to me ok? You mean something to me, whatever you may think."

"Ah, how sweet," Elle mocked sarcastically, a glimmer of her old self peering through. "But you mean fuck all to me Edwards, and I don't appreciate being manipulated by yet another man in my life. I get enough of that as it is."

"I'm sorry you feel that way." Rufus said quietly, surprisingly feeling a little twinge of hurt at her words. They had never been friends, but he thought they shared a certain understanding, a certain kinship.

"You gonna cry?" Elle chided him. "Grow up mate. Anyway, these outside forces ….."

"Teddy Lupin," Rufus interrupted. "He told me to put you in the duel, switch Malfoy for you. He didn't tell me why, didn't give me a reason. Just told me to do it and never tell anyone."

He watched as Eleonora closed her eyes and tipped her head back, exhaling a thin stream of smoke into the air. Watched as she rolled her head from side to side, reaching into her pocket and producing a vial, necking the contents in one swig. Her eyes opened instantly, seeming to bug out a little before settling down, the dead eyes being replaced by a slight haze. This caused him more concern.

"What's that your doing there then?" he asked, trying to seem casual, but he couldn't hide the disapproval. He knew exactly what it was.

"Don't be such a pussy Edwards." she dismissed him.

"Fine, fine. Just be careful with that stuff alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. So Teddy Lupin eh? Must admit I didn't see that one coming. What the hell's he doing getting involved in this?"

"I've no idea."

"Hold on," Elle stood up quickly. "You just said he told you not to tell anyone ever, but you're telling me. Why? What game are you playing?"

"I don't play games with people Eleonora."

Elle laughed in his face.

"All you do is play games Edwards. That's what you do, how you operate. So what are you playing at this time I wonder."

Rufus sighed and span away from her. She was right, he knew that. He was a manipulator of people, there was no doubt about it. But he was doing it for the right reasons. He was trying to make a difference, trying to make a better world for all of them. You couldn't do that without that cold, pragmatic streak.

"Could it be that you're finally starting to see who you got into bed with?" he heard Elle sneer at him from behind.

"I told you didn't I?" she continued. "You remember all those months ago outside the common room? Yeah, course you do. The day it all began. I told you then you couldn't trust them, but you wouldn't listen."

He considered how to respond for a moment.

"I still believe in them," he replied, ignoring Eleonora's snort. "But I need to know some things. I need to understand."

"You and me both." Elle said darkly.

"So where do we start?" he asked.

"Oh, God. You think we're going to 'team up'. We gonna be like The Avengers Rufus? First we'll be suspicious of each other but then, at the end, we'll come together to save the world, looking flawless and quipping our way around the battlefield and then go for a beer. Fuck off mate."

Rufus couldn't help but laugh and as he looked at Elle, he saw the ghost of a laugh there as well. Saw the Eleonora Jago he knew peaking through again.

"Look," Rufus began seriously. "I've been hearing things. Nothing obvious, but little things that are niggling at me. Putting you in that duel was the last straw. We both want to know why I was told to do it, so let's just get to the bottom of it. I'll do this with or without you. But it seems to me that you have an invested interest in this."

Elle sighed loudly, stubbing her cigarette out underfoot.

"For fuck sake … Fine. So what have you got to go on?"

"Not much, but I think I might have something. You ever heard he name Steve Mackay?

"Steve Mackay," Elle pondered thoughtfully. "I recognize it from somewhere….."

"Up until two weeks ago he was head crime reporter at the Prophet."

"Yes, yes. I've read his stuff. Proper propaganda shit." Elle dismissed.

"Well, yes. But just before the Unity attack on their printing press, he was placed on compassionate leave. Officially for alcohol abuse. However, I've heard a different story. Apparently, for the last year, he's been subtly shaking down the Knockturn scene, asking odd questions and generally coming across as a bit of a headcase. He's kept under most people's radar, but he's out there."

"And what's he got to do with any of this?" Elle asked, confused.

"Probably nothing. But one of my sources, yes I also have sources, claims that he knows something about Unity, that he's close to tying them to something else, he's been asking the right questions."

"This all sounds like bullshit to me. It's grasping at straws Rufus."

"It is, but have you got any other ideas. Do you know anyone we can get close to who can make sense of this?"

Elle sighed again. She seemed to do that a lot in his company.

"Fine. I'll go see him with you. But it'll have to wait for the weekend. I'm gonna break the habit of a lifetime and actually go to school this week. It'll be a nice change of pace and I just can't be bothered with a conspiracy theory this week."

"How the hell haven't you been expelled yet?" Rufus grinned at her. "I mean seriously, you disappear for weeks at a time, even when you are here you never show up for lessons. How the fuck do you do survive?"

"Oh, you know, day at a time I suppose." Elle smirked at him, walking across the room and opening the door for him.

As he walked past and attempted to get through the door however, he was stopped in his tracks by a sharp digging in his stomach. He looked down and saw Elle's wand sticking into his side.

"And if you breathe a word about Scorpius and my father, I'll kill you."

He nodded at her and left the room. For the first time, properly afraid of the five foot something girl with purple hair and darkness in her eyes.


	25. Rebellion (Lies)

"_if you're looking for an angle…" - Scorpius Malfoy_

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Rose Weasley asked him with the right amount of concern in her voice for it to pass off as genuine. He knew different however. He knew people, knew her better than anyone, and he knew that she was silently fuming, confused, considering her allegiance. It didn't matter that they were family, it never had really. The Weasley's and the Potter's, the biggest con of them all, he though wryly. None of them could stand each other if they were being honest with themselves. But they stuck together, they hung out with each other, they joked, took the piss, backed each other up. Because that was what was expected from them. The Weasley's and the Potter's, the symbols of Gryffindor pride, the symbol of the light. Here they were for all to see.

And here they were.

"I'm fine." Albus replied curtly, weaving his way through the corridors, moving slower than usual. His injuries had yet to heal, he was still a shell of his former self. He was having the nightmares again, the ones he hadn't had since he was a first year. His father, his mother, his brother. The Potter's. And those eyes, the eyes of the girl who he couldn't get out of his head, in fact he didn't want to. He'd heard about what she'd done to Dom, strung her up, called her a cunt, threatened his whole family. All it gave him was a sense of pride in the woman. She was everything everyone else wasn't.

He was probably in love with her, he thought.

Maybe.

He had nothing to compare it to.

But for now, such thoughts had to be forgotten. He had finally been released from the hospital wing and had managed to complete a day of lessons, not that he needed them. He had been capable of acing next years NEWTS since the age of 13. But that wasn't enough anymore. It wasn't enough to just be a genius. Not when Scorpius Malfoy and now Eleonora Jago existed on the same plain, but so far in the distance, so far beyond him. And now it was public knowledge. Albus Potter was third best. Gryffindor was inferior. Rose did not want to take this lying down.

"We have to hit back Albus," she was saying. "Do you even realise the damage you've done by losing that duel?"

He sighed inwardly, wishing it would all just go away. Why him? Why did it have to be him. Why couldn't his surname have been Jones or Chang or Brown or Macmillan?

The worst thing was though, he knew she was right. As much as he had claimed to Eleonora just how sick of all of this he was, as much as he knew himself to be above it all, it had still happened on his watch. It was still embarrassing and dangerous. They all had to live here.

"And what do you suggest cousin?"

"I dunno, but it's got to be big, bigger than anything ever seen before in this castle."

"Don't forget what this castle has seen Rose," Albus warned. "War and death, everything. So don't get too ahead of yourself."

"Whatever," she dismissed as they came to the fat lady, muttering the password and climbing through the hole. "It needs to be big Albus." she threw over her shoulder.

Albus sighed as he followed her in. He just wanted to sleep, just wanted to rest. He clambered into the common room uneasily, brushing himself off before he looked up to see his whole house staring back at him and Rose, who was looking around suspiciously.

"What's going on?" Rose demanded loudly

The sea of angry faces parted to reveal a smirking figure on an armchair by the fire, legs crossed, cigarette in one hand, firewhisky in the other, crowned in a haze of smoke.

"So Albus," Scorpius Malfoy grinned. "I want to hear all about your first day back."

* * *

There was silence in the common room. Even Scorpius Malfoy had never been this bold. To walk straight into the lions den, with seemingly no backup and not a care in the world was exactly something he would do, but still.

"Everyone out," Albus growled. "MOVE!"

The crowd of Gryffindor's began to slowly and reluctantly disperse out of the common room.

"Weasley stays, at least for this first part." Malfoy instructed towards Rose who had yet to leave Albus' side.

"She stays then so do I." Tommy Finnegan scowled, moving to her side.

"Sorry Finnegan, it's a no from me on that one I'm afraid," Scorpius dismissed. "You are not at all necessary here …. Well actually I'm not sure there's ever been or will be a situation in which your presence _is _necessary …."

"I swear to God Malfoy …." Finnegan raged, drawing his wand.

"Oh God, he's actually drawn his wand!" Scorpius exclaimed to Albus and Rose. "He's actually done it! Just how thick are you Tommy, I mean, really? Cos, it's bordering on the mentally deficient I think."

"Shut up Malfoy." Rose growled.

"Is that what you're into Rosie?" Scorpius sneered at her. "You like them a bit special?"

"You fucking …" Finnegan attempted to slash his wand but as he brought it down it had disappeared, leaving him clutching at air with a bewildered expression.

"Now, where could that have gone!" Scorpius mock exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Give him it back Malfoy." Albus sighed.

"As you wish." Scorpius shrugged, flicking his wand and causing Finnegan himself to vanish into thin air like his wand, much to Albus and Rose's shock.

"The fuck?" Rose began to shout.

"Relax," Scorpius replied casually before taking a sip of his drink. "Just a teleportation spell. Him and his wand are just outside the door."

"Teleportation spells aren't possible." Rose frowned.

"No, they are not possible for people who aren't me." Scorpius smirked back.

"You astound us again with your capabilities Malfoy," Albus said dryly, doing his best to hide how impressed he was, causing Scorpius to laugh and nod his head appreciatively. "Relax Rose, Tommy will be fine. Now, what is this little amateur dramatics show all about then?"

"I wanted to hear about your first day back!" Scorpius pouted. "Make sure the old brain and body are still up to scratch."

"I'm touched by your concern."

"Well, when I hear my old pal Albus Potter is in a spot of bother, I have to stop by and see if I can be of any help."

"Shall we cut the bullshit Malfoy?" Albus cut in, so very tiredly. "What is it that you're here for?"

"So, I do admit that I have perhaps another motive for coming here. Three others in fact."

"A whole three?" Albus gasped sarcastically.

"Yes indeed." Scorpius smirked.

"Get the fuck on with it Malfoy." Rose said angrily. It was clear that she was in no mood.

"You know what your problem is Rosie?" Scorpius sneered. "You lack basic manners."

"You're the problem here Malfoy."

"No, I am the solution."

"Solution to what?"

"Everything." he smiled broadly.

"You're an arrogant prick Malfoy, who's gonna get it. You think Gryffindor are going to take this lying down? You think ….."

"That's exactly what I think you're going to do Rosie." Scorpius interrupted lightly. "Your house is going to lie down and accept that you have lost. You will not retaliate. If you do, I will bring the whole of Slytherin down on you so hard that you won't ever be able to get up from underneath us."

"Pull the other one Malfoy," Albus attempted to sneer back, but his heart wasn't in it, not really. "Everyone knows you don't lead your house, so what's this about?"

"It's cos his little sidekicks gone rogue," Rose smirked, thinking she had the upper hand. "Everyone knows you two have um 'broken up' as it were. He's making his move, making sure she doesn't take his place."

"Mine and Elle's relationship is none of your business Weasley," Scorpius snapped back, showing a hint of anger for the first time. "And do you really think it's appropriate to label her a sidekick after she just duelled and beat your cousin here?"

"What's going on here Malfoy?" Albus questioned again tiredly, so sick of it all. "Rose is right. After all these long years, you're stepping up now? Assuming the leadership that we all know you should have claimed when you first set foot in this castle? It could have all been yours years ago, I know that and you know that. All those years of isolation, of indifference? No, come on Malfoy, I know you. You've never wanted it. Never wanted this. There's always another motive with you, always something below the surface. So what is it you really want, because again, I don't buy it. I really don't, and I can't be bothered to sit here and work it all out. So for once in our relationship, can we just be fucking honest with each other?"

Scorpius looked at him for a while, those cold grey eyes appraising him. It was awful to see a hint of pity in them.

"She really did a number on you didn't she Albus?" Scorpius said quietly after a long pause.

"I'm fine." Albus repeated what he had been repeating for what seemed like forever, but even he knew he sounded unconvincing. Eleonora Jago had broken him, maybe in a good way.

"You disappoint me Potter," Scorpius sneered, his sympathetic eyes being replaced by steel. "But then again, that's just what you do isn't it? You let down your house, your family, your friends. Such a disappointment."

"Shut up Malfoy." Rose attempted to interrupt before Albus raised a hand to stop her.

"What do you want Malfoy?" he repeated.

"To see this," Scorpius grinned back. "You, alone, defeated, fucking broken."

"Well here I am," Albus spread his arms. "Here I am, get a good look."

Scorpius smirked at him and dropped his cigarette on the carpet, using his shoe to stub it out, eyes never leaving Albus'. And then, he was back to business.

"I meant what I said. Gryffindor will not retaliate. Take this as a warning. My motivations are my own and they will stay that way. Now, let's move on to the more serious business. Firstly, you will tell your sister to stay away from Elle…."

Albus couldn't hide the shock and surprise on his face. Lily? What?

"Oh," a evil smile grew on Scorpius' face. "Don't tell me you didn't know? Oh yes, Lily and Eleonora have been playing out their own version of Romeo and Juliet right under your nose."

"You're lying." Albus managed to splutter out, looking across at Rose for support, who just stared back blankly. "You knew?"

"No, I didn't know, but I thought something …."

"AND YOU DIDN'T FUCKING TELL ME!" Albus exploded, could feel his heart burn, his head ache.

"I thought it was just a crush on Lily's part, I had no idea anything was going on!" Rose replied in a small voice.

"GET OUT!" Albus yelled, but Rose stood stock still, seemingly terrified.

"I must say, you're not taking this at all well," Scorpius chuckled. "Makes me think that maybe…."

He tried to stop it, he really did. Tried to arrange his features to neutral, tried to wish away his outburst. But Albus could only watch as the realisation dawned on Malfoy's face.

"…No fucking way!" Scorpius exclaimed, his face lighting with amusement and surprise. "Oh God, this is too much, too fucking much! You …. Her? I did not see that coming!"

"What's he talking about Albus?" Rose asked, but Albus couldn't respond. How could he have been so stupid? What was he thinking?

"Time to go Rosie I'm afraid," Scorpius managed to choke out through his laughter. "Me and Albus here need to talk some things through, Oprah style."

"But….."

"Seriously, leave now before I just make you leave myself. Have some dignity for fuck sake." Scorpius laughed at her.

"You're a prick Malfoy," she shot a him before making for the door with a glance at Albus. "A grade A fucking prick!"

Then she was gone and it was just Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy alone at last.

The way everyone suspected it would end.

* * *

"So, Potter….." Scorpius smirked mischievously after a while.

"So what Malfoy?" Albus said angrily.

"Just what the hell were you thinking!" Scorpius laughed. "Fucking Eleonora fucking Jago? Are you mental?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Albus responded, but again he wasn't convincing anyone.

"Yes, I'm sure you don't," Scorpius grinned sarcastically. "Jesus Potter. That's so fucked up. Firstly, you know she's gay right?"

"Bi." Albus shot back quickly causing Scorpius to laugh at his desperation seeped tone.

"No, she's gay. Trust me, I know her better than anyone has or ever will. I know that girl better than anyone has ever known anyone. And she's gay. Sure, she's messed around with blokes, but that's just her. Curious. Nothing more than that."

"Fine."

"And secondly," Scorpius pressed on, thoroughly enjoying himself. "She's a bloody Slytherin, your sworn enemy, my best friend. God, you Potter's are such clichés….."

"Are you coming to a point here or shall I just throw you out?"

"Like to see you try. Well yes there's a point. I want your sister to stay away from Elle as I said, your fault for sidetracking me with your pathetic little crush."

"Why?" Albus asked, but he was ready to do exactly as Malfoy said both for practical and personal reasons. He couldn't see his sister with her. He couldn't.

"Because it will not end well for either of them. We know that, I'm sure Elle knows that, but I'm making sure. Even I can concede that Lily doesn't deserve to be drawn into all this. In my opinion you should get her as far away from all this as possible, send her to fucking Beauxbatons or something, let her live a life you know?"

"And does Eleonora know you're controlling her life?"

Albus knew he'd finally hit a mark when Scorpius winced slightly, not at all obviously, but he had. He took a long while to respond.

"I'm doing it all for her," he said quietly. "She'll see that eventually…."

"Fine, it's done." Albus attempted to wrap up. He could see the hint of distress on Malfoy's face, the first time he had ever seen any weakness in the man in front of him. He could understand. Eleonora had got under his skin as well.

But Lily?

He was torn between anger and understanding. If he took a step back, he would be able to see it more clearly, he knew that. Would be able to comprehend how it had all happened. I mean, of course she fell for her. Why wouldn't she? She represented everything their family wasn't, represented a certain danger too. Poor, sheltered Lily never stood a chance against that. Maybe he should have been more hard on her, he should have forced Lily to toughen up, to step up with her family. She was a Gryffindor right? It was in there, she just needed the push. But they hadn't. Him, James and Rose, they'd never took her seriously enough. Allowed her to hide, protected her from anything, never allow her to make the same mistakes they had. Because they loved her more than any, maybe they wished they could all be more like her. He knew Lily saw her shy and weaker nature as a character flaw, but the truth was that it was her main strength. Her kindness and her compassion not allowing her to start fights and begin wars.

But Eleonora Jago?

What right did she have? He was Lily's brother, they were her family, but Elle? She had no right, no right to drag her into this. Felt anger at the girl, undoubtedly blinded by jealously, but also justification. The fact that Scorpius Malfoy was here at all betrayed the fact that something was going on, something serious. Lily could not be involved in it. He wouldn't allow it.

"Well, if that's everything ….." Albus sighed, gesturing to the portrait hole.

"So eager for this conversation to end Albus," Scorpius sighed. "I'm starting to think that this relationship is all one way…."

"You haven't embarrassed me enough for one day?"

"You've embarrassed yourself Potter," Scorpius snapped back. "This is all on you, you know that right? Which brings us on to this duel…"

"I lost, she won. End of." Albus dismissed, not willing to dredge it up again. He'd had enough of that.

"Wrong, not end of," Scorpius corrected. "You see, despite the fact that you are a bit dim, you have in the past been known to be correct occasionally. Only occasionally mind. You know it was supposed to be me, right? I was supposed to duel you and beat you, not her."

"What difference does it make?"

"All the difference in the world. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe that you have no idea what happened. In fact, I have a pretty good idea myself, but I need some confirmation."

"What are you talking about?" Albus said wearily. He just wanted to sleep.

"You think Rufus Edwards has the balls to switch me for her in front of my face? You really think he'd be that bold? I know how Rufus works, and that is not his style. He went through an awful lot of effort to get me to agree to it, so why would he switch it at the last minute to someone who shouldn't have had a chance? You should have beaten her Potter, you were expected to beat her. Now that means that somebody has a vested interest in keeping Slytherin house in check, keeping them at the bottom of the pile, whilst at the same time attempting to get into my head. This was no accident. This was planned."

"I'm sick of these games and riddles Malfoy. What has any of this got to do with me?"

"Think about it Potter, who does Rufus answer to? Who does he spend his days keeping sweet?"

"I don't ….." Albus trailed off, as he answered the question in his mind and saw exactly where Malfoy was going. "Ah ….. The Wolf himself."

"Exactly. Teddy Lupin. Unity needs Slytherin to be at the arse end of this castle. They need us beaten, persecuted, all of that. Because if we aren't then they have no cause. They need the support. And Hogwarts is their main recruiting ground."

"So, Teddy told Rufus to switch duellers. He tried to fix the whole thing."

"That is what I suspect," Scorpius confirmed. "And this puts me in a bit of a bind you see. Because Teddy Lupin has disappeared and I really need to make him see the error of his ways but I can't find hide nor hair of him, none of my contacts can. Now, if I had a couple of weeks, I would be able to get to him, but alas, my time is precious. That is where you come in Potter."

"What?"

"I need you to set up a meeting with him. God, I'm getting a sense of de ja vu ….Anyway, from what I gather, he is particularly fond of your sister if you're looking for an angle…."

"Why the fuck would I help you Malfoy?" Albus responded angrily. The cheek of this man. Destroy his life and then ask for help?

"Because of what I said earlier. If you help me do this, then you can disregard those comments. Things will go back to how they were. You're right, I have no interest in leading my house in this castle. I have no interest at all. And if you do this for me, then I won't. I'll step back, let the status quo slowly re-emerge. It will take time, but it will happen. How could it not? Without me, Slytherin has nothing."

"It has Eleonora."

"I speak for Elle on this as well." Scorpius replied, but Albus saw through the lie.

But he knew he was being given a lifeline. It hurt, it was humiliating, but it was a lifeline. Scorpius was right, if Slytherin was left in Rufus' hands then they would slowly disintegrate again and Gryffindor would be back on top. It was how it had always worked. And Albus couldn't pass that up.

Then came the clincher. Scorpius Malfoy was playing him like a fucking violin.

"I want it set for Saturday. Feel free to tag along if you have nothing better to do." Scorpius offered with a grin.

He wanted to see him. He wanted to see Teddy Lupin just once more. Wanted to ask him why, ask him how he could turn his back on all of them. He knew Malfoy knew that, but he was powerless to stop it.

"I might just do that Malfoy," Albus yawned, disguising his unease. "Now, please tell me you're going to piss off now…"

"Just one more thing," Scorpius said, his expression turning. The room got colder, the firelight seem to dim until his eyes were grey specks in the darkness. "Whatever you saw in her head, whatever you were witness to in the last moments of that stupid duel, you will never, ever repeat it to anyone, understand?"

"Of course I won't." Albus replied, offended that even his enemy would think that of him.

"Good. Because if you do, then I swear to God I will kill you, understand?" Scorpius finished.

Albus was afraid of him, he realised that now. Not because of the threats, he'd had plenty of them before, not because of what he could do. No, he was afraid of Scorpius Malfoy because he finally understood the lengths he would go to for Eleonora Jago. Perhaps he'd been guilty in the past of seeing them as a sort of forced marriage, two individuals who clung to each other because they had no-one else, two lost souls who just happened to share some common interests. But now he saw how wrong he had been. Scorpius Malfoy and Eleonora Jago were forever entwined with each other and they would always be so. Petty crushes and other friendships were so insignificant in comparison. He found himself even more jealous of them.

But the thing that frightened him most?

The thing that scared him most was that when it came to her, Scorpius Malfoy had no limits. And one day the entire world was going to pay the price for that fact.


	26. Brick

"_What have you got us all into?" - Rufus Edwards_

* * *

Dawn is rising.

Snorted at the words.

Unity. The Wolf. La Volpe. Ron Weasley. Scorpius Malfoy.

People. They always needed something didn't they? Something to rally behind, some flag post to salute. To serve. Always needed a _cause._ They were fucking idiots the lot of them.

Lit a cigarette and laughed.

None of them had seen it. None of them had opened their minds enough to piece it all together and step back to marvel at the canvas. Marvel at the sheer simplistic genius of it all. All too caught up in their own arrogance, insecurities, addictions.

It was disappointing.

Had expected more of a challenge.

Boring, boring, boring.

Too easy.

Boring.

Scorpius Malfoy was after Teddy Lupin again.

Boring.

Rufus Edwards and Eleonora Jago were after Steve Mackay, and he was after them.

Boring circles being drawn.

Yes, time to end it now. Time to finish it.

Picked up the phone.

"It's starting tonight. Get him here at 7."

Phone down.

Dawn is rising.

No scratch that.

A red dawn was rising.

Blood would be spilled.

But more importantly, a lot of money was going to be made.

Smiled at the thought.

Because that's what it was all about. Not equality, not war, not drugs, not Gryffindor and Slytherin, not magic and muggle, not lost artefacts and conspiracy theories.

Dawn is rising.

The sky will crack and rain gold.

Inhale deeply, exhale slowly.

Time to end it.

* * *

"Fuck….." Lucy Weasley sighed out, her brown hair falling across her breasts as she rocked slowly back and forth. Dragged her nails across his chest, causing him to hiss and grab her hips, forcing her to pick up the pace.

"Fuck…"

Scorpius Malfoy shut his eyes tightly, trying to focus, trying to achieve some sort of clarity through an ecstatic release. But it wasn't working.

God she was a good lay though he thought, as pleasure almost overcame him. Had known she would be, ever since he'd first noticed her that day by the lake. And the dozens of times they had done this since she hadn't disappointed. She was a bit like a drug. Lucy Weasley was addictive and she knew it. That's what turned him on most. She knew it.

It wasn't love, don't be ridiculous. It was just a fuck. She knew that also. But it was a good fuck all the same.

He opened his eyes as her moans increased and enjoyed seeing her come apart above him. When she came down, he flipped them over and carried on mercilessly until he collapsed on top of her, spent. They stayed like that for a while, allowing their breathing to become regulated. Lucy slapped him playfully and pushed him off her, climbing off the bed and looking round for her clothes.

"We're really good at that." she smirked with her back to him as she pulled her skirt on.

He laughed distractedly, vaguely noticing her words through the annoyance he was feeling. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. No epiphany, no sudden realisations, no reveal. It wasn't working. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how many artificial releases, be it sex, drugs or alcohol, nothing was helping him lift the cloud of fog and see what it was he had missed.

For the first time in his life, Scorpius Malfoy had no idea what was going on.

He hadn't believed Draco, hadn't bought the concerned father act. He had realised quickly that he was wasting his time, his father would not crack, would not reveal how involved he was in all of this. Maybe he wasn't at all. But he pretended to believe him for Eleonora and Laetitia's sake.

"You ok?" Lucy questioned lightly, now fully clothed facing him.

"Fine." he replied curtly, causing Lucy to laugh.

"What's the matter, can't stand to see me leave?"

"Quite the opposite." Scorpius said coldly.

"Wanker," Lucy laughed again, not bothered in the slightest by his attitude. "Well, it's been a pleasure again Malfoy, although next time I'd appreciate it if you made me come as well."

He laughed despite himself.

"You're a bad liar."

"Or just a really good faker," she grinned. "See you next time."

The door to the room of requirement closed behind her leaving him alone with his thoughts.

He decided then to give it up, give up trying to understand. That was the only avenue he could go down. He knew it was coming to a close, knew it couldn't be sustained for much longer. It was time to put a contingency plan into action. He might not be able to save himself from whatever was coming, but he could do something. The game was coming to an end.

And he had the horrible feeling he was going to lose.

* * *

The lights flashed around the packed room

"We cannot stand by and let this happen! We cannot allow ourselves to be dictated by terrorists. The Unity group claims to be a peaceful protest movement but we all know that this is not the case. They have consistently shown their willingness to break the laws of our Ministry and put people in danger. They have committed treason at every level, employing industrial and illegal espionage, explosive devices and hateful rhetoric to spread their supposedly peaceful message. My government will not allow this to continue. I fought in the biggest war in our history, I fought on the frontline against Voldemort. I did this for peace, for justice, for my friends, for all of you here today. Don't be fooled Ladies and Gentlemen. Unity have the potential to be as big a threat as the Dark Lord himself."

"You must understand that this kind of talk is only giving fuel to your critics who accuse you of attempting to create a culture of fear to suit your own ends of destroying any threats against your reign?" a voice called out.

Ronald Weasley paused, reddening slightly before recovering.

"I find that an insult to me and my staff. I am not the one creating a culture of fear. Unity is. They are the ones who have blown up the Prophet headquarters, have attacked law enforcement in public and attempted to steal information pertaining to the safety of our world. I have not done this. I have worked tirelessly within the law to uphold our principles with transparency and…."

"Transparency? Need I remind you _acting _Minister that repeated requests for court records and prisoner statistics have been rebuffed constantly by your government."

His eyes flitted to his advisors uncertainly.

"Those records are confidential for a reason, the safety of our nation…" he attempted.

"Liar."

The room erupted in whispers and Steve Mackay leant back with a smirk. He knew what was coming, knew he would be kicked out of the press conference in a matter of minutes. But someone needed to ask the questions, and the sycophants around him who called themselves journalists didn't have the balls. He'd snuck in with his old Prophet press pass, which inexplicably still worked, and bided his time, waiting for his moment. The cameras were now turned on him causing him to shield his eyes. Through the flashes he saw his old editor whispering apologetically in one of the Ministers advisors ear and he knew the game was up when the advisor went over to convey the information to the Minister. Here comes the humiliation, he thought wryly.

"Excuse us if we don't take an alcoholics conspiracy theories seriously," Ron Weasley addressed him and the room. "You were fired from the Prophet for alcohol abuse and suspected mental health problems Mr Mackay so if you could kindly leave this press conference with our security that would be much appreciated. I also advise you to check into St Mungos like your boss told you to do. They can help you overcome this difficult period and I will personally foot the bill if money is an issue."

Steve snorted and shrugged off the burly security mans hand on his shoulder, making for the door. As he made for the exit, he heard Ron Weasley's voice continuing.

"We all have a collective responsibility to maintain the peace in our world. I speak to all of you, even to Unity. We will not give in to unreasonable and dangerous demands …."

* * *

Draco swilled the firewhisky around in his glass as the patronus disappeared in front of him. It was funny he thought, funny how things could change so quickly. Funny how plans laid for years in advance could suddenly crumble and be replaced in a matter of minutes. And then funny how it came in twos.

"Draco?" his wife questioned from the doorway.

He raised his eyes to her, forgetting just for a split second what had just happened. She could have that effect on him. He marvelled once more at her beauty, her coldness, the way she never bored him, could never. He didn't deserve the happiness she had bought him, the contentment. But he had it, and he wasn't going to let it go. Not for anyone or anything. Anyone at all.

The game was at an end and it seemed that everyone knew it, if not explicitly then at least subconsciously. He wondered how it would end though. Thought on the conversation, the unexpected bolt from the blue. And he made up his mind.

"We're leaving tomorrow." he told her.

"I've told you Draco, I will not go with you to another one of those awful conferences! All those people give me the creeps! And don't get me started on that Anton or whatever his name is…"

"That was three years ago darling," Draco reminded her. "He'd had a lot to drink…."

"And that excuses it does it?" Astoria snapped back at him.

"Of course not," he reached for her hand, pulling her down onto his lap. Stroked her hair and sighed. "Besides, this is not a conference…"

"A holiday?" Astoria piped up hopefully. "God we haven't been on holiday in about six months…"

"Do you have any idea how you sound sometimes?" Draco laughed at her entitled nature. It should grate, but it just didn't, not on her.

"Hot." she deadpanned, causing him to laugh again.

He stroked her hand, interlocking his fingers with hers, ready to tell her what she needed to know.

"We have to disappear." he whispered. She didn't react, didn't even shift her position to face him.

"What about…."

"I'm sorry Astoria," Draco cut across her. "I know I said we could wait, do it all properly, but that option is no longer open to us now. We have to sell the stone and go tonight. Think about it, any place in the world, just you and me. No Slytherin and Death Eater's, no evil grandparents, no Ron fucking Weasley, no grey rainy days….."

"No child," Astoria whispered potently and sadly. "That's what your saying isn't it? We won't be able to see him again. Our son…."

"We did everything we could. We knew it would have to come to this." Draco managed to respond.

He kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see the tears that he was sure was falling from his wife's. A mother and father abandoning their son. How would this rank, he wondered. When he got to heavens gates and his sins were read out, would this be top of the list? Was it worse than murder? Him and his sins.

"Any place in the world…." his wife whispered, trying to convince him, herself, God….

And what were the consequences of the second thing that occupied his mind? How would that one rank?

Thought on the words of the patronus.

'_I need one last favour.'_

'…_..Aokigahara.'_

Where the worst of us go to die.

* * *

She could name every constellation. She could tell you the meaning behind said name. She could tell you the brightest star in each. She could tell you everything you could ever want to know and more. The stars were her people, they were her friends, they were her comfort and her passion. They talked to her and she talked to them.

They'd always had the answers.

Not now though.

She perched on top of the tower, legs dangling into the darkness, a precarious position from which the slightest wrong move would see her plunge. She didn't want that. She just wanted to feel alive. Because she realised that until recently, she had never felt alive. One kiss and one sentence, still burned into her flesh and her mind, still as vivid as it was in the moment. That was what being alive was. Someone who made you feel like that couldn't possibly be bad for you could they? How could they be?

"Lily, can you come down please?" a voice she recognised as her brothers reached her through the whistling wind.

"I don't want to talk to you." she snapped.

"I know, but please Lily, come down. Please stop scaring me. It's too dangerous up there." he begged.

She sighed through the guilt and the anger she felt. Span round quickly as she leapt down, causing Albus to gasp briefly in fear before he realised that she was safe. They just looked at each other for a minute, two siblings who had only ever really had each other. Two siblings in love with the same girl, two siblings aware enough to understand how stupid that was. Two siblings who hadn't seen their father in ten years, who had cried together, who had mourned together, who had laughed together eventually. Two siblings weighed down by the world and the expectations that came with their name.

"You must see it Lily," Albus begged. "You must see what she could do to you?"

She couldn't help but let her mind wander back to the kiss, to the hands on her body, to the breasts pressed up against hers. Yeah, she could see what she could do to her….

But that wasn't what he meant.

"I know." she understood.

"I'm going to see Teddy tomorrow." Albus dropped the bombshell.

Lily saw through it. Saw the misdirection, the distraction, the way his words were supposed to impact and throw her off balance. He'd always been capable of manipulation, of blindsiding people. He'd just never done it to her before.

She was ashamed to admit that it had worked.

Teddy Lupin had been her favourite person in the entire world. He had been everything to her, everything that James, her mother, Rose, Hugo, Dom, Lucy, even Albus wasn't. Loving, kind, sincere….. But it had all been a lie. He had abandoned her just like her father had. Her heart had never recovered. Now he called himself the Wolf, embraced the violent side of himself that she realised now had probably always been there. She wasn't one for politics, she didn't understand what was happening to the world, the fancy rhetoric he spoke in, not really. But she knew that their were better ways of going about what he had done. It was all misdirection as well, is that where Albus learnt it from?

"What do you want me to say Albus?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"I want you to tell me not to go. I want you to tell me that it's a stupid idea and that Scorpius Malfoy is not to be trusted. I want you to tell me that you love me and that you understand that all I'm doing is trying to help you."

Lily looked back up to the stars.

"I love you. But I think I love her." she admitted aloud for the first time.

"So do I."

They paused again.

"What now?"

* * *

She felt the beginnings of a come down just in time to address it. Made for the bathroom quickly, pushing past the sweaty bodies and feeling the vibrations from the music spread up from the floor through her body. Shut the door of the cubicle behind her and leant back on it closing her eyes. But she found no solace in the quietness. Looked down at her hands. She had her mothers hands, her dad had always said. It had always struck her as a strange thing for him notice. Wasn't it normally the eyes, the voice, the personality. But no, she had her hands.

Death waits with cold hands.

Took her shoe off and reached inside it, hands brushing against the cellophane bag which she pulled out. Opened it up and took a single pill out of it. MDMA with a strong caffeine kicker added in for good measure. Muggles knew how to make a high, there was no doubt about it. Popped it on her tongue letting it sit there for a minute before swallowing it with the aid of her bottle of water. Felt the rush almost instantly, she was just topping up. It was a dangerous game to play, she knew that, but right now she couldn't give a fuck. Needed to forget, needed the release. And for her, drugs were always the answer.

Stumbled out of the stalls, back into the belly of the beast. Eyes hazy and glazed she took in the scene around her. This was the thing about London. Whatever time of day, however early, however late, there was always a place for the lost souls to get fucked up and dance the world away. She made for the dance floor, arms raised aloft, feet sticking to the floor, sweat pouring off of her and everyone in her vicinity. She moved lazily with the beat, getting lost in a drug fuelled paradise. An artificial life, a glorious mess of the human race. This was life and this was death. This was everything.

It was all a dream as she moved, bright spots in her eyes, bodies moving against her. Didn't know how long she was there, could have been hours, could have been minutes, could have been days. When she came to, she was leaning over the bar, brow glistening with moisture. The expected thirst was upon her and she chugged from another bottle of water. A shot glass was placed in front of her and she looked blearily around to see a girl staring back at her with a smirk, raising her own one aloft. She smiled back as best she could and downed it, eyes never leaving the girl. Nodded her head towards the mesh of bodies and disappeared into the crowd, feeling the eyes on her back, feeling the girl following her.

It was all a dream as she moved, bright spots in her eyes, now one body moving against her, hands roaming her exposed skin, the tingling of the ecstasy making her extra sensitive to the touch.

"I was hoping we could get out of here." the girl murmured in her ear seductively from behind her.

She fell back into the girls body, feeling feminine arms encircle her waist.

"Time's too fucking fleeting to waste on hope."

It was all a dream as she moved, bright spots in her eyes, one body moving against her. Pushed up against the door of the cubicle, soft feminine hands up her shirt and skirt, breathless moans and filthy whispers. Held on for dear life as she saw stars, bit down on the girls lip as she fell again and again. Lost in the girls scent, the girls hands, the girls hair. Took a strand of it between her fingers, wondering at the brightness, at the sleek coarseness, at the colour red.

Again she fell, her dead mothers hands grasping at the air.

* * *

_Amanda Roper, 26__th__ April 1980 - 2__nd__ May 1998._

The unidentified. That's what they had sometimes been referred to as. They didn't have the fame see, didn't have the achievements, didn't have the position, didn't have the name. Those who stayed behind, those who died for this world he walked in. Would he have done the same, he asked himself? Would he have saved himself? He thought he probably knew the answer. 18, just a year older than he was now. Fucking hell, it brought it home.

"Apologies for the delay." a voice shocked him from beside him. Took a few seconds to recover, not bothering to turn to look at the man.

"Not a problem," Rufus replied casually, still transfixed by the painting. "I saw your parents over there. Do you ever wish they hadn't stayed behind? Hadn't been willing to leave you all alone?"

He felt the eyes on him and the profile stiffen.

"I think I would…" Rufus trailed off.

"Yes, well it's not an option open to me is it Edwards?" Teddy Lupin said irritably.

"I suppose not. Anyway, I must say I'm surprised your still taking meetings here, what with it being a known hiding spot for yourself. You know Scorpius Malfoy is after you as well now right?"

Lupin let out a bark like laugh.

"I'm aware. The little shit has a surveillance team covering all exits…"

"I told you he'd work it out," Rufus chastised. "He's the most intelligent wizard of his generation, how could he not?"

"I had to fucking do it ok?" Lupin raised his voice. "Jesus, I'm sick of all this shit. I have more important things to worry about than your fucking castle in the highlands!"

"Why get involved at all then? Why switch the duellers?"

"You're a smart boy Edwards, work it out your fucking self! It ain't exactly rocket science!"

There was a mad glint behind Lupin's eyes, Rufus thought. The pressure seemed to be getting to him. Looked at him properly and saw the bags and the sleep dust under and around the eyes, the creases on the forehead, the tension in the shoulders. All was not well.

"What the hell's going on Teddy?" Rufus pressed. "Something's happening, I know it, I know you're involved somehow. What have you got us all into?"

There was silence between them, an invisible barrier they were both aware of but knew they probably wouldn't overcome.

"We have a right to know if it is affecting our movement…."

"EVERYTHING I'VE DONE HAS BEEN FOR THE MOVEMENT!" Lupin exploded, his whole body shaking and jerking causing Rufus to draw back, afraid. "EVERY CHOICE I'VE MADE, EVERY ALLIGIANCE I'VE PLEDGED, EVERY BAD DECISION, ALL FOR THE GREATER GOOD!"

He was wild and Rufus thought he was about to strike out, but as quickly as it had come it was gone, and Lupin was left shrinking backwards, drawing in to himself.

"All for you," he was whispering. "All for us, for him. For her."

"Her?" Rufus questioned, narrowing his eyes.

"For her." Lupin repeated, suddenly raising his face. That face made Rufus back away slowly. That face was smiling, that face was bright, that face was totally fucking insane.

"Who's this 'her' Teddy?" Rufus asked, hands raised above his head and feet dragging him backwards.

"She's the one who's going to make all our dreams a reality."

"And how's she gonna do that?"

He smiled wider.

"She's going to burn everything."

Teddy Lupin's laughter echoed as he broke into a run, smashing the button on the plinth to take him away from The Wolf who was finally living up to his name.

* * *

It looked like a hospital waiting room he thought to himself as he looked around. All gleaming and clean and sterile. Cold. The white walls were spotless, the chair he was sitting on was uncomfortable. He supposed that was the point. It was designed to make you nervous and anxious, just like a hospital did. Waiting and waiting for the diagnosis, whether you'd stumble on in the darkness for a while longer or succumb to the bright lights of death. Looked down at his pale hands, so translucent they almost blended in to the walls. Astoria had jokingly called him an albino when they'd first properly met, not the first to do so by all means, but the only one who could sting him with it. But he'd laughed along and attempted to find an appropriate comeback, but at the time he'd thought she was perfect in every way. Of course she wasn't, but to him her imperfections made her all the more perfect. Shit that annoys you about other people doesn't apply to the ones you love he had come to realise. Unless the one in question was Scorpius Malfoy...

Put his hand in his pocket to check it was still there for what could have been the hundredth time since he'd arrived. Felt the smoothness of the stone against his skin, felt the power throbbing from every centimetre. Some people were in thrall to it. God, to have that much power over death, they thought. But he knew it was all arbitrary when it came down to it. Why would anyone want it really? Dying was part of living, it was the natural conclusion. And why would anyone want to live forever in this world? This horrible world.

Death waits with cold hands.

Still, this stone was his ticket to his freedom. Freedom from his name, from his job, from his country, from his very species.

"You may enter." a faceless voice spoke softly.

Stood up and straightened his tie. This was it, this was where it all ended and began. All the whispers he'd heard, all the vague truths and lies, the countless rumours and sighs. Draco Malfoy was about to get to the bottom of everything. And then he was going to walk away.

A door to his left sprang invitingly open. He steeled himself and walked into the unknown.

The room was the size of a football pitch, but he took no time to look around in wonder. He walked purposefully towards the spec in the distance, growing clearer and clearer until he could make it out. A single desk, a single computer, a single chair, a single figure.

Finally he approached.

Looked upon the figure curled up cat like in the oversize chair and let out a single humourless laugh.

"You," he said. "Of course."

"Me. Of course."

Let the silence hang as he processed it all, as he pieced it all together. The fog lifted and it was suddenly both so obvious and so unlikely. How the hell had they done it?

"Please, do sit."

"I'd prefer to stand and make this quick." he replied coldly.

"I must admit to being slightly surprised by your lack of reaction. I thought, you know, mind fucking blown and all that. Does my ego no favours at all really…."

"You forget, I raised a boy who could produce a patronus at the age of four. Surprise at anything is something that melts away after that."

"Raise is a strong word there Mr Malfoy. I do have a certain admiration for your laissez faire style of parenting, but still. And how does it feel now? How does it feel to be abandoning him to whatever 'evil scheme' I have hatched for him."

"I feel nothing. He made his choice the moment he chose to be extraordinary."

"Not quite as extraordinary as me though, right? Come on Draco give me some props man!"

"That remains to be seen." he smiled, enjoying the flash of anger he had produced.

"I suppose it does. Now, onto business I guess. Have you got it?"

Draco reached into his pocket for the stone, eyes never leaving theirs, and placed it carefully on the table.

"Such a little thing. Pretty boring really. I know you share the sentiments Draco. Wizards and their stupid obsessions…."

"Quite. Now, I'll just have my money and be on my way then." he said curtly.

"Naturally. Remind me, what did we agree on again? 18 million?"

"You are almost certainly aware that we agreed on 50."

"50? Fucking hell, I signed off on that?"

"It's a lot of money."

"Not to me. Don't forget, I now own the entire drug trade and black market in this country. But still, seems a bit steep…"

"You…" Draco began to storm forwards but was stopped by something, immobilised.

"Relax, I'm just fucking with you. Tell you what, I'll add on another 10 just cos I can."

"No. I'll take what was agreed upon and nothing more. I will not be in your debt."

"Smart man. Okay then. What do you want it in, galleons, sterling.."

"Yuan."

"Ah, going East are we? Word to the wise, be careful what you order out there, I once found myself eating Duck intestines with congealed blood…."

"I have places to be." Draco cut off.

"Of course. Okay, transferring into your Swiss account right now… 50 million sterling, 462 million… whatever, loads of other numbers it is, Yuan. You wanna check?"

The monitor was spun round and he checked to see it was all in order.

"Looks fine," he confirmed, preparing himself to leave. "I would say good luck, but we both know I wouldn't mean it."

"Observe the niceties Draco."

"Absolutely not."

With that he turned and began to walk away.

"You really don't want to know?" he was called back. "You really don't want to know what I'm planning for Scorpius?"

He paused but didn't turn around.

"I know exactly what you have planned for my son."

"Yet still you walk away…."

Draco Malfoy began to exit for the final time, one foot in front of the other.

"Still I walk away Miss Patil."

Laetitia Patil laughed loudly and curled back up in her chair, the resurrection stone in front of her and the entire world at her mercy.

Dawn is rising.

Snorted at the words.


End file.
